Capitol Update for February 20, 2009
by Jen“I have not felt as if I were fighting for Knute Nelson, or any other little Norwegian, but for principle.”*
Knute Nelson, July 12, 1882
I have to make a confession, I’m a populist. I take extra special enjoyment when a hard-working, honest citizen takes a stand on principle against the well-funded power brokers and wins. Knute Nelson was one of those great populists in our state’s history.
Being of illegitimate birth, he arrived in America from Norway at age 7 with his single mother in 1849. He learned how to curse and fight with the best of them as a paperboy on the streets of Chicago while staying with his uncle. After his mother wed, his stepfather moved them to Dane County, Wisconsin. During the Civil War, he joined the Wisconsin Fourth Volunteers and served with distinction as a corporal. Upon return from the war, he worked hard to educate himself to become a lawyer and received admittance to the Wisconsin Bar. He even served two terms in the Wisconsin Assembly.
He was encouraged to join other Scandinavian immigrants flooding to settle the outward reaches of Minnesota and found his place in the community of Alexandria. He served one term in the Minnesota Senate. As a result of the Census of 1880, Minnesota gained a new congressional district that covered the entire northern section of the state north of St. Cloud. This new district gained the reputation as the “Bloody Fifth District” in part due to the battle for the Republican endorsement for the new congressional seat. The battle came down to the stout hard-working Knute Nelson, popular amongst the Scandinavian settlers of the western part of the district and Northern Pacific Railroad mogul Charles F. Kindred, whose power base was amongst the logging interests of northeastern Minnesota. Kindred made no secret that he was willing to spend his wealth to gain the congressional seat and did everything his wealth could do to buy delegates for the Detroit Lakes convention on July 12, 1882.
Kindred had secured every room in the hotel where the convention was to be held for his delegates at no insignificant price. Undaunted, the Nelson faction set up a circus tent across from the hotel for their delegates to stay. Kindred’s faction accused Nelson of all sorts of improprieties including, amongst other things, drunkenness, hater of churches, and not being an American citizen. The convention was full of skirmishes and disorder regarding seating of delegates. At one point there were about 50 people around the podium screaming for attention. Eventually the Nelson faction realized there would be no semblance of order and left the convention for their circus tent outside. They formed a Rump Convention and nominated Nelson to run as an Independent. Despite some obvious corruption from some of the precincts Kindred owned, the principled and determined Nelson went on to win the election handily with 16,956 votes to Kindred’s 12,238.
This victory in the “Bloody Fifth” helped launch a distinguished national career for Knute Nelson. He later served as governor and eventually as the first U.S. senator of Scandinavian descent. He served in the Senate from 1895 through 1923, the year he died. Nelson gained a reputation as a moderate Republican who was not afraid to call powerful business interests on the carpet for the common good. He was one of the key players in many of the national reforms during the progressive era in which he served in the U.S. Senate. He was such an icon to the Scandinavian community during his service to our state that he is honored as one of the two statues that guard the entrance to our Capitol steps.
As I passed by that statue of Sen. Nelson this week, I swear there was actually a little wry smile on the face of the old populist senator from Alexandria. It might have been because of the hearing in the House Transportation and Transit Policy and Oversight Division on Wednesday when they heard the Minnesota Clean Car Bill, HF690, authored by Rep. Melissa Hortman (DFL-Brooklyn Park). The legislation is opposed by the large automobile manufacturers who, in their effort to defeat the bill, have elicited support of the Minnesota Corn Growers under the misguided belief that this legislation will harm ethanol production. They purchased the assistance of a “national expert” to do a “scientific” study on how the bill would harm ethanol. What this “national expert” didn’t anticipate is the steely determination of a populist Minnesota politician who actually pays attention to the facts.
Rep. Andy Welti (DFL – Plainview) has gained a reputation as a young moderate legislator within the DFL caucus. He has been a strong supporter of ethanol as a clean independent alternative to foreign oil but, like old Knute, he is not afraid to call the powerful interests who support ethanol on the carpet to account for the facts. The Corn Growers hired their so-called “national expert” to support the false contention by big oil and big auto that the bill would restrict the sale of flex fuel vehicles and thereby reduce ethanol demand in the state. The “national expert” foolishly cited several vehicles he claimed were not available in states that have adopted the state-based clean car standard. What the “national expert” obviously didn’t anticipate was Rep. Welti getting his intern, Leslie Gorfine, to do a little fact checking on his research. Well, Ms. Gorfine diligently was able to determine that the information regarding availability of vehicles in his report was incorrect. She called several dealers in those other states and was able to find that most of the vehicles on his list actually were available. A great “gotcha” moment occurred when this fact was revealed in committee by Rep. Welti. For that reason Rep. Welti and Ms. Gorfine have earned my Knute Nelson award for the year.
The bill passed out of committee after the hearing spilled over into the evening on a 9 to 6 vote. Joining the chief author and Rep. Welti in voting yes were chair Frank Hornstein (DFL – Minneapolis), Bobby Joe Champion (DFL – Minneapolis), Alice Hausman (DFL-St. Paul), Bernie Lieder (DFL – Crookston), Sandra Masin (DFL – Eagan), Terry Morrow (DFL – St. Peter) and Paul Rosenthal (DFL – Edina). The bill now moves to the House Environment Policy and Oversight Committee. The Senate version of the Clean Car Bill, SF 674, is scheduled for its first hearing in the Senate in front of the Energy, Utilities, Technology and Communications Committee on Thursday of next week. The chair of that committee, Yvonne Prettner Solon (DFL-Duluth), has been on a tireless campaign to identify areas where Minnesota must make steps forward in reaching our global warming pollution reduction goals and we look forward to displaying how this bill will be a major part of that effort.
Adding to a good week for the MEP agenda was the continued progress of the Building Sensible Communities legislation (HF898/SF549). It was heard in Sen. Prettner Solon’s committee on Tuesday and received unanimous endorsement from the committee. It is now on its way to the Senate Transportation Committee. It will have its first hearing in the House on Thursday in front of a joint committee made up of the Environment Policy and Transportation Committees.
The Safe Mining proposal received its first reading and introduction on Thursday. It has been assigned the bill numbers of SF845/HF916. We have a solid slate of authors in both bodies. In the House, the chief author is Alice Hausman and she is joined by co-authors Denny McNamara (R- Hastings), Marsha Swails (DFL – Woodbury), Bev Scalze (DFL – Little Canada) and House Environment Finance Chair Jean Wagenius (DFL – Minneapolis). In the Senate our chief author is Jim Carlson (DFL – Eagan) and he is joined by co-authors Denny Frederickson (R- New Ulm), Senate Environment Finance Chair Ellen Anderson (DFL-St. Paul), Scott Dibble (DFL – Minneapolis) and John Marty (DFL – Roseville). The Safe Mining crusaders will be looking for hearings soon in the Environment Committees in both bodies.
It was a good week for those of us fighting for principle and the preservation of our Great Outdoors for the next generation against the well-financed power brokers. I’m sure old Knute Nelson was smiling down on us this week. Next time you walk by his statue in front of the Capitol steps, tell me if you can see that wry smile, too.
*101 Best Stories of Minnesota, Merle Potter, Harrison and Smith Co., 1931, page 31.
