This is an e-mail I sent out today:
From: Alan L. Maki [mailto:amaki000@centurytel.net]
Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2010 12:56 PM
To: David Shove (shove001@tc.umn.edu); greenpartymike [ollamhfaery@earthlink.net] (ollamhfaery@earthlink.net)
Cc: amistad.nai@rcn.com; editor@workdayminnesota.org; editor@indiancountry.com; editor@tcdailyplanet.net; charleyunderwood@hotmail.com; awuhl@msn.com; annamarie.hill@state.mn.us; rep.bill.hilty@house.mn; rep.tony.sertich@house.mn; rep.tom.anzelc@house.mn; rep.al.juhnke@house.mn; rep.maryellen.otremba@house.mn; rep.tom.rukavina@house.mn; loneagle@paulbunyan.net; rep.dave.olin@house.mn; sknutson@mnaflcio.org; erin@mnwomen.org
Subject:
This is from the personal blog of Brad Swenson, the Editor of the daily Bemidji Pioneer, about the Warriors for Justice
The questions everyone is afraid to publicly ask is:
Will racism cost the DFl a house and senate seat?
Will Mark Dayton’s strong stand in opposition to racism and for the strict enforcement of affirmative action win him the DFL endorsement for Minnesota Governor over his two racist opponents, Margaret anderson-Kelliher and Matt Entenza, who have publicly refused to support affirmative action?
The Minnesota AFL-cIO has been shamefully silent on the issue of affirmative action because they are afraid of embarassing their endorsed candidate Margaret Anderson-Kelliher who has chosen as her running mate a republican known for forcing austerity measures down the throats of working people, especially public employees.
Every time Matt Entenza is asked to take a stand to support affirmative action as a means to end racism he starts talking about his defense of native american indians and their treaty fishing rights in wisconsin--- as if institutionalized racism, requiring his attention and activism, doesn’t exist in minnesota.
Racist Election officials headed up by Beltrami County Auditor Kay Mack and the staff in the Minnesota Secretary of State’s Office have been trying to find excuse after racist excuse to try to keep the Warriors for Justice off the November ballot.
The warriors for justice deserve the support of all liberals and progressives... they are fighting for all of us.
Alan L. Maki
Political and media observations from northern Minnesota by Brad Swenson, Opinion Page and political editor of the Bemidji Pioneer.
A new party: Warriors for Justice
Curtis Buckanaga, left, and Greg Paquin staff a huge poster outside Bemidji High School on Sunday, where the State DFL Central Committee held its endorsing convention for lieutenant governor.
Paquin sought the DFL endorsement for Senate 4, opposing Sen. Mary Olson, DFL-Bemidji, who got the endorsement for a second term. Also, Nicole Beaulieu sought the DFL endorsement for House 4A, an endorsement that went to Rep. John Persell, DFL-Bemidji.
At first thought to oppose them both in the Aug. 10 DFL primary, instead Paquin and Beaulieu have formed their own party, Warriors for Justice, in which they need 500 petition signatures to gain the Nov. 2 ballot. And the signatures need to be filed by Tuesday to do so.
"Warriors for Justice was initiated by native American Indians because the Minnesota DFL, and Democratic Party, take the money from what are supposed to be our casinos to support and run white candidates who then look away in indifference from our problems," says a statement passed out at the DFL State Convention in Duluth last month which describes the new party. "We have found our tribal leaders refuse to become warriors for justice in solving the problems of our people ranging from high unemployment and the extreme poverty this unemployment and poverty wage jobs breed."
It cites a gap between those at the top of the political process and the people at the grass-roots level, resulting in people lacking confidence and not trusting politicians at any level.
"We have found when we go directly to our people at the grass-roots level we have tremendous support because people know the same institutionalized racism that largely drives the same corruption involved in the Minnesota DFL and Democratic Party is at play in our tribal governments -- crooks and thieves grabbing everything they can get and leaving our people with nothing for health care, education, housing and jobs while our communities are saddled with environmental messes and pollution with our land and our resources stolen right out from under us," the Warriors for Justice statement says.
Some familiar issues are sounded, such as the allegation that no affirmative action policy was used in hiring construction workers at the Bemidji Regional Event Center. Meanwhile, Paquin's lawsuit against the city of Bemidji in the matter has been dismissed by Beltrami County District Court.
"The Minnesota DFL has excluded native American Indians from the decision-making process and shown no concern for solving problems created by institutionalized racism ...," the new party says. It notes that the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association contributes to mostly white male candidates and that no American Indian is elected to the Minnesota Legislature or from the Minnesota Congressional Delegation.
The group tried to nominate Buckanaga for the U.S> House 7th District post, a nomination that went to longtime Rep. Collin Peterson, but were allegedly excluded from nominating. Paquin apparently created a stir at the State DFL Convention as he placed the name of Mark Dayton into nomination for governor, giving him the convention floor for a few minutes to raise Warrior for Justice issues. Dayton did not seek endorsement, stating earlier he will go directly to the Aug. 10 primary, so his name was withdrawn.
"It is now time to correct this and this is why we, as native American Indians, are considering forming a new political party based on the liberalism and progressivism of the Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party and we are expecting other grass-roots activists of all races concerned about peace, social and economic justice and our living environment who are just as fed up with the present state of racist, undemocratic and corrupt politics to be joining together with us," the statement says.
How far the new group goes is anybody's guess. It depends upon gathering enough signatures to gain the Nov. 2 ballot. If Warriors for Justice does make the ballot, it could pose problems for Persell, an employee of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe as the House 4A district includes much of the Leech Lake Reservation and Warriors for Justice could easily split the vote. Waiting in the wings will be Republican-endorsed Bemidji Mayor Richard Lehmann, who has strong support in the city during his mayoral elections.
Paquin, who has brought his message everywhere -- even Republican endorsing conventions, would have a tougher time as the Senate 4 district is huge, reaching down to Brainerd suburbs. Olson will have a tough enough time with Republican-endorsed John Carlson, whom Persell faced in 2008.
Posted by: bswenson on 5/27/2010 at 10:01 PM
Alan L. Maki
58891 County Road 13
Warroad, Minnesota 56763
Phone: 218-386-2432
Cell Phone: 651-587-5541
E-mail: amaki000@centurytel.net
Please check out my blog: http://thepodunkblog.blogspot.com/
