Rice County Republicans

The Rice County Fair that ended on July 20th experienced very large crowds and nearly perfect weather.  All ages were represented for the grandstand shows, midway rides, 4-H exhibits, historical displays, and musical entertainment.  We got our annual taste of cheese curds and Pronto Pups, and visited all the commercial sales booths.

Along with all that, the Rice-Scott County Republican BPOU booth had another successful run, attracting many fairgoers who visited, asked questions, and signed volunteer and survey forms.  A big “Thank You” to Doug Jones, Jim and Helen Munger and Otto Luknic who assembled the booth’s large back drop, and to Doug, Jim, Bron Scherer and Jeff Quinnell who took it down on Sunday night.  These large items plus tables, chairs, flag poles and boxes of display items are stored at Doug’s home the rest of the year.

During the five day fair, we had sixteen volunteers who took shifts at the booth.  Campaign literature, bumper stickers, buttons and yard signs from Senator McCain, Senator Coleman, Congressman John Kline, State Representative candidates, Tim Rud-HD 25B and Otto Luknic HD-26B were distributed.  Congressman Kline visited on Friday from 4:30 to 6PM and had an opportunity to visit with many fairgoers.  Tim and Otto also were on hand to talk to those who came by the booth.

Our free drawing box drew seventy six registrants.  The winner of the $100.00 gas card was Chuck McNamara from Goodhue; and Cheryl Nelson of St. Peter won the American flag.  The volunteer sheets for the candidates drew several dozen more names.  Collecting these names is very beneficial in identifying voters.

Our displays attracted attention, especially the new banners showing the coastal outer shelf areas unavailable for oil drilling, and the rise in fuel costs since the Democrats took control of the Senate and House. We heard a lot of positive feedback on our message of “lower taxes, less government, energy exploration and independence, and affordable health care”.  We found the current war to not be in the forefront of importance; many people saying they perceive it to be winding down, and they noted that more soldiers died under the Carter or Clinton administration than under President Bush.  Visitors also feared that the increase in proposed Democratic spending, and tax increases on nearly all, will force the country into deeper debt and drive more businesses to close their doors, thereby losing a large tax base.

A common perception is that we Republicans need to speak out more, explain our positions and show the comparisons to the liberal views of “Tax and Spend”. We encourage everyone to write more letters to the editor, attend Town Hall sessions or debates, join in parades and encourage all your conservative friends to speak up and to vote Republican before it’s too late.  We can be a strong voice and elect our strong Republican candidates if we all work together.

Thank you to one and all who have helped in any way.  We hope you continue to stay involved, and please contact us if you have any questions or suggestions.

Sincerely,
Kathy Dodds
Chair, Rice-Scott County BPOU