Farm Fest ’08: No ties allowed

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The campaign trail snaked its way to southwestern Minnesota yesterday. On a swath of land somewhere between the towns of Morgan and Redwood Falls, candidates came to pay obeisance to the men and women who work the land (and the federal tax subsidies that help support them).

Sen. Norm Coleman and Al Franken squared off for the first time in the morning in a largely civil debate, with Independence Party challengers Steve Williams and Dean Barkley seeking to garner some attention. The former got off arguably the best line of the day in response to a question about immigration. "The only people who need to be deported are the members of the ruling parties in Washington," he said.

In the afternoon Gov. Tim Pawlently blessed Farm Fest with a rare Minnesota appearance. The VP aspirant praised ethanol and expressed concerns about bovine tuberculosis. He then told an anecdote involving Michael Jordan that left the farm crowd guffawing. Speaking with reporters afterwards he refused to speculate about the VP speculation.

Minnesota’s Congressional candidates then got their shot on the stage. With seven candidates from four different races, it was difficult for them to stand apart. Elwyn Tinklenberg complained about discrimination towards candidates with long names, noting the tiny font on the placard bearing his name.

The most spirited debate came from the First District candidates, where freshman Rep. Tim Walz is being challenged by a pair of Republicans, Brian Davis and state Sen. Dick Day. Davis, for instance, criticized the incumbent for voting against the Colombia Free Trade Agreement. But Walz ably swatted such complaints aside and drew the most spirited response from the crowd. He drew laughs with a jibe about his experience in the energy industry — pumping gas to pay for college.

The candidates were followed on the stage by a different sort of beauty pageant: a singles meet-and-greet sponsored by FarmersOnly.com.