Amy Klobuchar brings her one-woman show to Mankato
Looking at Amy Klobuchar standing behind a podium one can't help but wonder: Could this be a female Paul Wellstone? Not very tall, dark hair, gleam in the eye, ready grin... attitude. Attitude! That's it.
When Wellstone walked into a room the first thing you'd think was: This guy's short. And the second thing you'd think was: But he doesn't know it. Because right away he'd be cruising the crowd, shaking hands, greeting everyone, essentially taking charge. And then when he'd step up to a podium, sometimes the upper part of his body barely visible behind it, he'd grasp it on both sides and lean forward. The podium became a tool for him, a prop, not something to hide behind like so many other politicians, more like a launching pad for a rocket.
Amy Klobuchar is very much the same way. A lot of energy in a small package. A woman on a mission. A politician with a lot to say.
Coming to Mankato is never an ordinary stop for her, as this city is where her husband John's parents live and where he grew up. On Tuesday when she came to Minnesota State University Mankato's student union she began by acknowledging them, noting what great companions they were for her daughter Abigail while she was busy politicking at the State Fair.
Paul Wellstone told great stories, and Klobuchar has that knack. She talked about visiting a farmer in northwestern Minnesota who, throughout their whole conversation, was holding a flyswatter. Apparently, this man had a vehement dislike for the President, and every time he made a comment to that effect swatted at a fly with a loud "thwack".
She noted that Americans are paying $900 million a day on the federal debt and sending $250,000 a day to Saudi Arabia to pay for oil.
She spoke of returning to the pay-as-you-go plan (PAYGO) that was in effect under Clinton and getting rid of budget earmarks. She talked of rolling back tax cuts for those making over $330,000 a year and eliminating offshore investment tax shelters.
She advocated either a $10,000 tax deduction or a $3,000 tax credit, whichever is better, for students and families to help pay for college. She proposed opening up the federal health insurance plan to owners of small businesses so they would have the same access to health care as members of Congress.
She said she opposed the war in Iraq from the beginning, but that if this country does go to war it should at least have a plan.
She discussed other issues, offering answers that not all in the audience would agree with. For example, when one student asked, "What about us? Do you support people of the same sex being able to marry?" she replied that she supported civil unions, not marriages. When asked about her views on immigration she suggested building stronger fences at the border.
Yet the crowd was in love. She didn't always tell them what they wanted to hear, but she never minced words, never tried to talk around an issue.
Minnesota has a habit of sending strong senators to Washington. In fact, Klobuchar mentioned this, acknowledging Wellstone, Humphrey, McCarthy and even Durenberger. It's clear that she wants to follow in this same tradition: by stepping up to the podium, grabbing it on either side, leaning forward and speaking her mind.
LP
When Wellstone walked into a room the first thing you'd think was: This guy's short. And the second thing you'd think was: But he doesn't know it. Because right away he'd be cruising the crowd, shaking hands, greeting everyone, essentially taking charge. And then when he'd step up to a podium, sometimes the upper part of his body barely visible behind it, he'd grasp it on both sides and lean forward. The podium became a tool for him, a prop, not something to hide behind like so many other politicians, more like a launching pad for a rocket.
Amy Klobuchar is very much the same way. A lot of energy in a small package. A woman on a mission. A politician with a lot to say.
Coming to Mankato is never an ordinary stop for her, as this city is where her husband John's parents live and where he grew up. On Tuesday when she came to Minnesota State University Mankato's student union she began by acknowledging them, noting what great companions they were for her daughter Abigail while she was busy politicking at the State Fair.
Paul Wellstone told great stories, and Klobuchar has that knack. She talked about visiting a farmer in northwestern Minnesota who, throughout their whole conversation, was holding a flyswatter. Apparently, this man had a vehement dislike for the President, and every time he made a comment to that effect swatted at a fly with a loud "thwack".
She noted that Americans are paying $900 million a day on the federal debt and sending $250,000 a day to Saudi Arabia to pay for oil.
She spoke of returning to the pay-as-you-go plan (PAYGO) that was in effect under Clinton and getting rid of budget earmarks. She talked of rolling back tax cuts for those making over $330,000 a year and eliminating offshore investment tax shelters.
She advocated either a $10,000 tax deduction or a $3,000 tax credit, whichever is better, for students and families to help pay for college. She proposed opening up the federal health insurance plan to owners of small businesses so they would have the same access to health care as members of Congress.
She said she opposed the war in Iraq from the beginning, but that if this country does go to war it should at least have a plan.
She discussed other issues, offering answers that not all in the audience would agree with. For example, when one student asked, "What about us? Do you support people of the same sex being able to marry?" she replied that she supported civil unions, not marriages. When asked about her views on immigration she suggested building stronger fences at the border.
Yet the crowd was in love. She didn't always tell them what they wanted to hear, but she never minced words, never tried to talk around an issue.
Minnesota has a habit of sending strong senators to Washington. In fact, Klobuchar mentioned this, acknowledging Wellstone, Humphrey, McCarthy and even Durenberger. It's clear that she wants to follow in this same tradition: by stepping up to the podium, grabbing it on either side, leaning forward and speaking her mind.
LP
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1 Comments:
You've got to be kidding me. Paul Wellstone was an educator and an organizer, and Klobuchar is freakin' prosecutor.
You should ask Amy what she was doing the day Paul died. It wasn't crying like the rest of us.
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