Farmfest face to face for Franken and Coleman

Senator Norm Coleman and the man who wants his job, Al Franken, have had plenty to say about one another this year. They'd just never said it in the same place, until Tuesday.

The political rivals shared the stage for the first time at Farmfest in southern Minnesota, at a candidate forum that also featured former Senator Dean Barkley and Steve Williams, who has the endorsement of the Independence Party.

Hundreds crowded into to a huge tent at the farming festival in Redwood County to see the debate. The energy crisis dominated the discussion, both how to solve it and who to blame.

"We've gone the wrong way because we've gone to more and more oil," the Democrat Franken argued, "And Norm Coleman is in the pocket of oil."

"He's received more contributions from Big Oil than any politician in the history of Minnesota."

Coleman, for his part, took Franken to task for not supporting more off-shore drilling leases and being too tentative on expanding nuclear power.

"You gotta put it all on the table," the Republican incumbent declared, "You've got to drill, you've got to conserve, you've to do nuclear, you've got to do clean coal, you've got to do conservation."

Franken supports more drilling and exploration, but in places where oil and gas companies already hold leases. As for nuclear power, he wants to see the waste issue solved.

"Nuclear reactors come in one size, extra large," Franken remarked, "I just want to make sure we have the capacity to store and monitor the waste that we've stored, and I believe that our engineers can do that."

Barkley said the technology we need to break free from oil is there, and it's a matter of electing leaders who are independent of the energy industry.

"Willie Nelson can run around this country now on vegetable oil in his bus," Barkley quipped, "I mean if Willie can do it, why in the world can't the rest of us do it?"

Williams, the only actual farmer at the table, called our nation's oil addiction it's greatest threat.

"We must realize that our involvement in the Persian Gulf, from the Shah of Iran to Saddam Hussein has been dictated by our addiction to energy," Williams said, "And this is the dictatorship we must fight."

Gas tax question

The format didn't allow for direct exchanges between the candidates, and Franken and Coleman weren't seated directly next to each other. The closest they came to a back-and-forth volley was over the issue of raising gas taxes.

"Mr. Franken has said we should be raising the gas tax," Coleman said, "I disagree."

As soon as he regained possession of the microphone Franken shot back.

"I am against increasing the federal gas tax," Franken responded, "Norm Coleman knows that. I'm surprised he said it."

In the months following the collapse of the 35W Bridge, when gas prices were far lower, Franken supported the state legislature's plan to raise state fuel taxes to fund roads and bridges in Minnesota.

Barkley said the gas tax question is something the nation has to deal with, as it wrestles with infrastructure issues.

"We have to have honest debate," Barkley said, "If we want infrastructure improvements how are we going to pay for it? I'd hate to go there and pass it off to our kids."

Immigration reform

Immigration reform is another hot topic in rural Minnesota, because of the number of immigrants working on farms and in meat processing plants.

All four of the candidates on the stages supported some form of comprehensive immigration policy reform.

"I think the 12 million or so that are here, the ones that have been working, the ones who've obeying the law should be put on a path to citizenship," Franken said, "They should be required to come out of the shadows, and required to become citizens."

Coleman agreed some type of guest worker registration program is needed, combined with ironclad identification cards. But he disagreed on the citizenship question.

"I don't think it requires a path to citizenship," he said, "We're a country of laws, there are folks waiting in line throughout the world to come here."

Barkley called for an end to the divisive rhetoric on the issue that, he contends, denies the reality of the role the undocumented immigrants play in the economy.

"Let's restore some sanity," Barkley asserted, "We're not going to deport 12 million people, that's absurd. Let's bring this out of the closet and deal with it."

That line set up Williams for the most memorable one-liner of the day.

"The only people who need to be deported are the members of our ruling parties in Washington."

By John Croman, KARE 11 News

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