We firmly believe the most important issue this election campaign for the Iron Range is which candidates for state and federal office will work the hardest, and without giving an inch to certain environmental special interest groups, when it comes to helping pave the way for jobs in the region.
U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman has a proven six-year record of working hard in a bipartisan manner for economic development projects in the state and on the Iron Range.
Coleman has been a champion of mining initiatives, including his wholehearted support of non-ferrous ventures of PolyMet near Hoyt Lakes and Franconia Minerals on Birch Lake near Babbitt.
He understands that the Iron Range was built on development of our natural resources; that we extract minerals to create jobs that provide opportunities for families to stay in the area and to build healthy communities.
The senator has also been a consistent and persistent supporter of the Excelsior Energy clean-coal project for the Range
Coleman teamed with the majority of area DFL legislators and Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar to move the coal gasification project forward. While lawmakers did their jobs securing Iron Range Resources Board funding and also legislative support in St. Paul, Coleman led the effort in Congress to obtain $133.5 million in federal tax credits for the project.
In addition, Coleman is working with both Republicans and Democrats in Washington to get funding to develop and build underground pipelines in the country to sequester carbon dioxide emissions from the coal gasification plants that would transfer that carbon residue to other areas where it could be used in further energy production. Such a project does not happen overnight. It needs public servants who see its value and how it fits into an overall Made in the USA energy policy and who then keep the faith and do not give up the battle. Sen. Coleman is one of those elected officials.
Barkley is definitely our second choice in this race. However, we are concerned that he has not been a strong public advocate for mining and logging and multiple use of our recreation areas in Northeastern Minnesota. Perhaps he is supportive on those issues, but that has not been a key component of his campaign.
We are especially concerned with Franken on economic development issues.
He has been lukewarm at best and that’s being kind regarding the copper/nickel/precious metals mining projects on the East Range. Meanwhile, Coleman has been a steadfast supporter of those projects and the jobs they will create. That’s a huge, huge difference.
On Excelsior Energy, Franken is opposed to the project. He has flat out said it should be built elsewhere in coal country with the jobs it would create benefiting another state. So much for looking at an innovative way for economic development in Minnesota and on the Iron Range. Coleman and most DFL legislators have worked hard to move along this energy project.
Regarding recreational use of our land and water, Franken has obviously been prepped well to stay away from seeking the endorsement of the Sierra Club, which is a constant challenger of multiple use and mining and logging on the Range. However, we believe that’s just a politically convenient move by the Democratic candidate.
There's little to add in analysis. These esteemed editors say it all, and they say it clearly. He oinks. We love him.
And Oberstar, before explicitly mentioning any particular cuts of pork, they sing, they sing:
And like a fine wine, the Chisholm native just keeps getting better and better serving his constituents in an expansive district that stretches from the Canadian border down to the far northern suburbs of Minneapolis.
Now, what exactly, would YOU guess "serving his constituents" means to these editors?
Finally, they do not like the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment, here.
Three strikes.
Bozos out.
______UPDATE_______
I missed the significance of a date, a friend pointed it out.
How's this for poking a sharp stick in every Minnesota progressive's eye - these press gentlemen in Virginia MN chose their Coleman endorsement date carefully: October 25, with the truth known by every cogent person within the State being that Norman Coleman would never have left Minnesota for Washington DC except for the Wellstone plane-crash death; October 25, 2002. How gentlemanly, how thoughtful, how special these editors are in their ways and means.
There seems to be only one rational answer - send more money to Al Franken, to defeat this kind of thing and to emphasize we, like Franken, treasure the memory of Paul Wellstone and want to serve his legacy.