Thank you….
I was able to spend some rest and relaxation time with Ellen at our cottage this weekend. It was good to be alone and read, do some woodwork….and also have a chance to build a snowman
I’ve been getting lots of emails from people in the district that have been thanking me for running a good, clean campaign in this Special Senate election. While I’m proud of the fact that I do not condone or use negative and misleading ads, several people thought I should have countered some of the ads being run against me with a more forceful message. I personally believe that the nation as a whole has seen enough negative messages—you have to draw the line somewhere. Here are some selected messages….
Ron and I both made a special effort to make sure we voted for you yesterday. (One of our vehicles even got stuck in a ditch and I had to pull it out with our tractor before I could vote.) We just want you to know how much we have enjoyed meeting you. You truly have been a breath of fresh air. I have never been so impressed with the efforts of a local politician before. Your caring for the community and kindness to people you meet was evident the first time we met you. Thank you for restoring our faith in politicians. Should you choose to run again at some point, we will be there to vote for you again!
One from this Northfield resident identifies all the political ‘hoo-ha’ going on at the Iowa caucuses and in the Nation as having some impact in the Senate race. I think he is correct, and I agree that the Democrats seem to be creating more excitement than the Republicans are….
It has to be a bitter pill to get thumped in your hometown. I’ll spare you the analysis but clearly there was a lot more on the ballot than just a couple of names. It certainly was not a referendum on your service to your community. You can’t help but compare the 25 results to the business they held to the south of us last night. For all the talk about Huckabee’s stunning victory, he came in a DISTANT fourth among all candidates–this in a state that went for Bush in 2004.
This comment raises a concern that I heard a lot on the campaign trail, namely that Northfield is too much of a concentrated ‘power’ source that essentially negates much of the rest of the District. The way to deal with this is for the balance of the District to turn out voting percentages like the City of Northfield….
Thanks for running for Senate, I liked your aggressive approach and your willingness to come to LeCenter on a couple of different occasions. I am really bothered about Northfield. Basically this is proof we have no representation in our smaller towns if Northfield voters decided the election. From what I heard you had a lead until Northfield was counted. I did not see nor hear of your competitor during the election.
This resident expressed support for my integrity.
Thank you for your willingness to offer to serve the common good in our community and state, as well as for your integrity as a public servant, campaigner and neighbor. I will miss your voice and leadership in that Senate position; yours is a moderating presence that is useful to all of us. I trust that Kevin and others have and will benefit from observing the way you carry yourself in public office, community service–and simply as a sound human being.
Finally, several people sent me this quote from a speech Theodore Roosevelt gave in 1910. I have read several books about Roosevelt and greatly admire the man….our first true giant in Republican environmental conservationists…..
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face in marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” — Theodore Roosevelt, Address delivered at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910
