Endorsement: Amy Klobuchar for U.S. Senate

10/30/2006

She brings a strong combination of competence, energy, focus.

Star Tribune Endorsement
Published: October 30, 2006

The timing is clearly right for Amy Klobuchar. Long recognized as a rising political talent, Klobuchar has come into her own during this year’s high-profile campaign to replace fellow DFLer Mark Dayton in the U.S. Senate. Her message is spot on, her competence is manifest and her direct, upbeat and outgoing personality seems equally comfortable in every small town, suburb and city in Minnesota. The Star Tribune recommends Amy Klobuchar’s election on Nov. 7.
Klobuchar’s drive, poise and ability to make a personal connection with Minnesota voters would have made her a strong contender against any opponent. But Republican Rep. Mark Kennedy’s insistence on hewing closely to the White House line on Iraq and other critical issues of the day has sharpened the choice for Minnesotans: Stick with President Bush or carve a new path?

Had Kennedy been campaigning from the private sector or a state-level post, it would be easier to listen to him argue, as he did recently on “Meet the Press,” that we can’t “TiVo and play replays” on Iraq, that the focus should only be forward. But Kennedy and his fellow members of Congress have yet to be held accountable for their credulous backing of the president, even in light of ever-emerging evidence that the White House misread the situation and misled the public from day one of this shameful war. Kennedy’s recent acknowledgment that mistakes have been made seems more a desperate campaign move than evidence of serious rethinking, given that he still supports current administration policy.

Klobuchar argues for acknowledging reality—i.e. that “this really is a civil war, sectarian civil war. There is terrorism there. But to solve this, it’s going to be a diplomatic and political solution.”

Hennepin County attorney since 1999, Klobuchar has spent the past several years focusing on crime and running a large prosecutorial office.

Nevertheless, she offers informed opinions on U.S. policy both at home and abroad. While Iraq has been the focus of voter attention on this race, Klobuchar also voices a spirited critique of U.S. economic policies—calling, for example, for a return of the Clinton era’s pay-as-you-go budgeting rules to ensure fiscal responsibility.

Klobuchar really lights up when talking about key Midwest issues like agriculture and energy policy. She says she’d like to serve on the Agriculture Committee and finds common ground with Sen. Norm Coleman and other regional senators on energy initiatives.

Kennedy, who has represented Minnesota’s Sixth District since 2001, has campaigned as a voice for change, but it’s a hard sell for a sitting member of Congress who has supported his majority party’s positions on the most important issues facing the nation. In fairness to Kennedy, he has parted company with the administration on some votes. But this smart, accomplished accountant has been particularly disappointing in the areas that matter most: the economy and foreign policy.

Kennedy has also resorted to running nasty campaign ads with comically strained logic, against which Klobuchar has kept her cool. She’s shown herself ready, intellectually and temperamentally, for the U.S. Senate.