Lacking in Attention

Some attention is warranted in Minnesota’s Third Congressional District. Not at the local level, at least for this post – although plenty of attention there is warranted. No, this one is actually at the Congressional level.

more inside
Opinions of the viability of Wendy Wilde’s campaign to unseat Jim Ramstad range far and wide. What cannot be disputed, however, is the leadership Ms. Wilde displayed in calling for the resignation of House Speaker Denny Hastert (R, Ill.) over the Mark Foley debacle. Wilde was one of the earliest federal candidates, incumbent or otherwise, to call for Hastert’s resignation over this issue of vital ethical importance, and deserves a bit more attention for it.

Which begs the question of where her opponent, Congressman Jim Ramstad, stands on this episode. Preliminary research has not revealed where Ramstad stood when Tom DeLay (R, TX VA TX ??), Denny Hastert, John Boehner (Majority Leader), and Tom Reynolds (NRCC Chair) rose to their respective positions of power within the Republican Party. Ramstad is widely regarded as a moderate in his own legislative career, but if we are to accept him as a candidate running on his record, we must take into account his entire record – this includes where he stood when it came to party leadership votes.