DFL Senate leader: ‘I need a 2nd chance’

03/18/2006

He says he distorted justice’s comments on gay-marriage ban

BY RACHEL E. STASSEN-BERGER and BILL SALISBURY
Pioneer Press

With tears welling in his eyes and a voice choking with emotion, Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson apologized Friday for claiming in a January pastors meeting that Supreme Court justices had told him they would uphold a law defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

This week, those January comments, recorded by a fellow pastor, have returned to haunt the Willmar Democrat.

The controversy brought renewed attention on the gay-marriage issue and energized those supporting and opposing a constitutional amendment to define marriage. It also gives supporters weight to their argument that a 1997 law defining marriage is vulnerable to a possible legal challenge.

Republicans on Friday unveiled a radio ad, which includes Johnson’s January comments, and some advocates of an amendment have called for the senator’s resignation. The national Focus on the Family highlighted Johnson’s comments and announced it will run newspaper ads in his district demanding a vote on the marriage amendment.

So far, Johnson’s fellow DFL senators have stood firmly behind their leader, and Republican senators have not formally denounced the majority leader. The pastor who recorded the January meeting said he was willing to forgive Johnson if he was sincerely contrite.

The senator, who is a Lutheran pastor, said Friday he needed forgiveness.

“I need a second chance today,” he told a room full of reporters in his Capitol office.

Johnson said he could not excuse his inaccurate comments. Instead, he apologized to his fellow clergy, the Supreme Court, his fellow senators and “the great state of Minnesota” in an extraordinary news conference.

“I woke up this morning and I said, ‘I need to apologize,’” said Johnson.

Johnson said he met with New London-Spicer Ministerial Association in January to discuss the push to amend the Minnesota Constitution to define marriage as the union of a man and woman.

According to a transcript of the event, he said: “Members of the Supreme Court, I know all of them, I’ve had a number of conversations with them about our law.” Johnson said the message from the justices has been that they were not going to “touch” the current Minnesota law that defines marriage as the union of a man and woman.

Those backing a constitutional amendment say the 1997 law is vulnerable to a court challenge and therefore the state needs a marriage definition in the constitution.

“I said it out of frustration,” Johnson said. But, he added, “I’m not making any excuses. I’m simply making an apology for that day.”

His comments first came to light a few weeks ago in the Pro-Family News, a publication of the Minnesota Family Council. They received wider circulation this week on the St. Paul Pioneer Press’ editorial page.

“I will admit the words that I said on that tape were poorly chosen,” Johnson said. “They were not totally accurate.”
Court officials have said his words were completely inaccurate.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Russell Anderson said in a statement that he had spoken with each justice and said no member of the Supreme Court had made any such commitment to Johnson.

Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Kathleen Blatz, whom Johnson named specifically during the recorded meeting, said she never gave the state senator any assurances about how the court would vote.

“It just never happened,” she said in a statement.

But Johnson said he did not “lie” about the matter. What he did, he said, was embellish. To lie requires “intent to deceive,” he said, while “embellishment is sanding off the truth.”

Johnson said Friday he did have one “very brief” conversation with one justice in the Capitol but never received any commitments about the marriage law.

He told Minnesota Public Radio on Thursday that a justice told him the law is “something we’re not going to take a look at.”

“I had a visit with a member of the judiciary and that they did not seem to believe the ‘97 law would be overturned,” he said. “The person sort of just shrugged their shoulders and said, ‘Yeah, we have a law.’ “

The changing stories have not helped Johnson’s credibility with those who already opposed him.

“Dean Johnson’s story has changed so often I am starting to get dizzy,” Republican Party Chairman Ron Carey said Friday.

Senate Minority Leader Dick Day, who replaced Johnson as minority leader back when Johnson was a Republican, said he takes Johnson’s comments about the Supreme Court seriously.

Senate Republicans do not yet have a plan to bring Johnson up on ethics charges or formally react in any way but they are considering such actions, Day said.

“I think people expect us to do that,” said the Republican from Owatonna.

Chuck Darrell, spokesman for Minnesota for Marriage, said that despite his contrition, Johnson is still “playing politics with the definition of marriage.”

Proponents of the constitutional amendment to outlaw same-sex marriage accuse Johnson of blocking a Senate vote on the issue.

Johnson has long denied that charge. He said Friday that the bill, which the House passed last year, will get a hearing and vote in the Judiciary Committee during this legislative session. But a committee vote is not enough for supporters — they want it on the Senate floor and, if it fails there, they’ve pledged to continue pushing the issue.

It’s the vote that matters to Brent Waldemarsen, the pastor in Johnson’s hometown who recorded the January meeting. He is willing to forgive Johnson, but “the whole goal of this is never to try to bring anybody down. The whole goal is we just want the right to vote” on the marriage amendment.

Sen. Michele Bachmann, R-Stillwater, concurred.

“I commend Senator Johnson for his openness and his veracity today,” said Bachmann, the chief backer of the marriage amendment in the Senate. “The greatest thing Senator Johnson could do for himself and the DFL caucus would be to allow a full up-or-down vote on the Senate floor (on the amendment).”

Supporters said they don’t think the controversy damaged Johnson’s credibility and DFL senators said they continue to support him.

Former Sen. Roger Moe, who was Senate majority leader for 22 years until 2002, said with the apology the controversy about Johnson’s statement should be laid to rest.

“Here’s a guy, by any measure, people would say he’s accomplished quite a bit. …I think you ought to measure him by that, not by this one situation. He apologized, and I think you ought to let it go,” Moe said.

Johnson said he doesn’t think many Senate Democrats would support the amendment as it now stands.

“This issue of gay marriage has been the toughest issue I have ever dealt with,” he said.

He also said he will work to be a better person and choose his words more carefully.

“It’s humbled me and shown me the error of my ways,” Johnson said.