Vet, lifelong Republican on Tim Walz: "I like the way he talks"

Military experience: Tim Walz 24 years, Gil Gutknecht 0

From "War is not the only issue on political stump" by Anthony Lonetree and Aaron Blake, Minneapolis Star Tribune, April 27, 2006:

For Russell Mahaffey, a World War II veteran and retired school superintendent attending a seminar for veterans in Rochester last Sunday, there is the price of gas -- he paid $87 recently to visit his grandson in Grinnell, Iowa.

For Nick Carter, a Vietnam War veteran and past supporter of Republican U.S. Rep. Gil Gutknecht, there is what he considers the "rudderless" leadership of President Bush. "The Republican mantle is going to be the 'Scarlet A' " in 2006, he said.

As congressional campaigns head into spring endorsing conventions in coming weeks, two southern Minnesota races seemingly custom-made for war debate are taking on added texture.

Tim Walz, a Democrat whose standing as retired veteran and war critic has won him national notice in a bid to unseat Gutknecht in the First Congressional District, vows "passion and leadership," he said, on education, labor and environmental concerns.

[...]

At the Aquarius nightclub in Rochester last Sunday, a chapter of the Disabled American Veterans hosted a benefits seminar that drew about 110 people, including Walz, a retired Army National Guard command sergeant major and a high school teacher.

In a previous interview, Walz had criticized Congress, both parties included, for having failed to ask tough questions about the war.

But in a brief speech Sunday, unity was the message.

Safeguarding benefits for those who have served, Walz told veterans, "is not a left or right issue. It's a right or wrong issue. We need to take care of our veterans."

In the audience, Mahaffey, 80, a self-described lifelong Republican, leaned over to his wife and said, "I like the way he talks."