Jim Ramstad (R) has been a congressman in Minnesota's third district since 1990. Prior to that he served three terms in the Minnesota Senate where he was Assistant Minority Leader. Is it time for a change? With widely different views from newcomer Wendy Wilde (D) on healthcare, prescription drugs, education and the war in Iraq, will Ramstad prove to be out of step with his constituents in the third?
Wilde, unlike Ramstad, lacks both name recognition and a congressional record. Whether this works for or against her, however, remains to be seen. As a radio broadcast veteran, Wilde has worked as a reporter, broadcaster and talk show host asking important questions and investigating issues that matter for 30 years. As a working mom, she says it's time to retire professional politicians who are out of touch with middle class families. As a volunteer, she has worked with the homeless, Meals on Wheels, Big Brother Big Sister, and is currently serving as the President / Founder of a non-profit, volunteer-run teen center.
Ramstad co-chairs the Bipartisan Disabilities Caucus, the Addiction Treatment and Recovery Caucus and Medical Technology Caucus. Although he is the 2006 recipient of the Disabilities Rights Award presented by the American Association of People with Disabilities,
he only voted in favor of Disabled American Veterans 20% of the time in 2005 as reported by Project Vote Smart.
Regarding other healthcare-related issues, Ramstad voted for the Medicare Prescription Drug Bill which provides for progressive increases in premiums and deductibles, and creates a loophole into which many seniors fall that drastically reduces their overall coverage. Wilde will vote to repeal Medicare Part D, allow Medicare to negotiate better prescription drug prices for seniors and support single-payer national healthcare.
According to Project Vote Smart, Ramstad supported the interests of the National Education Association an average of 53% of the time over the past six years and voted in the interests of the PTA an average of 49% over the same period. Wilde has shown her dedication to children and quality education through her volunteer activities inside and outside the classroom. She supports affordable college tuition, low student loan rates and rolling back the No Child Left Behind Act.
Wilde supports ideas that will move our troops out of the line of the fire such as redeploying troops to a friendly, secure area while keeping them close enough to back up the new government in Iraq. She believes in making respectful allies out of enemies and respecting Iraq's sovereignty. Ramstad supports the war in Iraq and last year voted against HR1268, which would have increased funding for military healthcare and transitional job training for military personnel. The bill failed to pass.
As a battleground state since the year 2000, key Minnesota races like this one will likely receive national attention from now through the general elections on November 7.
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Comments: 5
If I lived in that district, I would vote for Wendy as she is more in tune with the needs of the populace.
luckky is right to posture Ramstad as no hard core right winger, but Ramstad does appear to be moving further to the right these days.
The blogosphere is changing the political landscape more than we realize. First of all, the Star Tribune Voter Guide published the week before the primary election excluded profiling Ramstad and Wilde because both candidates apparently had no party opposition candidates running against them. I have more research to do. I don't know anything about Wilde and I don't know the name of the Independent Party candidate.
About Ramstad--he's not perfect, but wouldn't the GOP be better if there were more moderates like him? I must say I'm disappointed in some of the Ramstad votes I've read about in the on-line reports coming from "Rubber Stamp Congress."
The White House attempts to control Congress is not good. I'm glad to see GOP senators fighting President Bush over the so-called clarity issues concerning Article 3 of the Geneva Convention. One would hope that true conservatives would ardently want to stay the course with international law and the U.S. Constitution rather than submit to this president and turn him into a supreme commander-in-chief with authority to overrule the legislative and judicial branches of the federal government.
How the third district congressional candidates stand on this issue of domestic freedom and constitutional security is of ultimate importance in the 2006 election.
Wilde represents a new voice. One that will (it is hoped) hold to her beliefs.