Profile of Monti Moreno
Jon Gordon, 6/6/96
Monti Moreno's party dismisses him as a fringe, single-issue candidate. A newspaper columnist called the former Stillwater hair salon owner a "homophobic hairbender," and some political observes say Moreno is to blame for dividing the state republican party by helping to block the expected endorsement of U-S Senate candidate Bert McKasy. Moreno will tell you he's got nothing against McKasy or homosexuals, and is broad on the issues. Minnesota Public Radio's Jon Gordon reports.
MORENO WANTS TO BE THOUGHT OF AS A CANDIDATE WITH STRONG VIEWS ON A BROAD ARRAY OF ISSUES. BUT HIS DRAMATIC PERFORMANCE AT LAST WEEKEND'S REPUBLICAN STATE CONVENTION DIDN'T CREATE AN IMAGE OF A MAN IN THE MAINSTREAM. IN HIS FLOOR SPEECH MORENO BASHED GAYS AND LESBIANS, AND WIELDED A MUSKET - MORENO SAYS IT WAS A TOY - AND SEEMINGLY ADVOCATED VIOLENCE WHEN HE STATED HIS OPPOSTION TO GUN CONTROL.
"Monti Moreno will make sure you have the right to keep and bear arms. I tell you what. You see this musket? These are what these revolutionaries fought it with. You see if you can't do it by ballot you've got to do it by bullets."
MORENO SPENT HIS EARLY CHILDHOOD IN A POOR ST PAUL NEIGHBORHOOD, ONE OF EIGHT CHILDREN. AFTER HIS PARENTS DIVORCED MORENO MOVED TO WHITE BEAR LAKE WITH HIS MOTHER. THE FAMILY LIVED ON THE XX-YEAR OLD MORENO, WHO STARTED OUT AS A HAIRDRESSER, IS PROUD OF HIS MIDDLE CLASS STATUS AND SIX-ACRE SPREAD OUTSIDE STILLWATER. MORENO DETRACTORS AND JOURNALISTS CALL HIM A "HAIRDRESSER" BUT MORENO SAYS "BUSINESS OWNER" IS MORE ACCURATE.
"I've now owned a hair salon for 10 years in Stillwater. We bought some commercial real estate - a gas station-gocery store type business. We purchased some other commercial real estate and next to that we are looking at building about a 14,000 square foot strip mall on it. We own a marketing business. I mean I've been out there and have basically crawled out of the gutter if you will and just fought to make something happen."
MORENO PUT HIS SALON ON ICE TEN MONTHS AGO TO CONCENTRATE ON HIS IMPROBABLE SENATE CANDIDACY. HE'S NEVER RUN FOR OFFICE. HE'S DONE SOME VOLUNTEER WORK FOR RUDY BOSCHWITZ IN 1990 AND ROD GRAMS IN '94. MORENO HAS TRAVELLED THE STATE EXTENSIVELY IN SEARCH OF SUPPORT. JOY HEDQUIST OF CARLETON MINNESOTA, A MORENO DELEGATE AT THE STATE REPUBLICAN CONVENTION IN DULUTH, MET MORENO AT A COUNTY FAIR.
"What impressed me most about him was that he was a Christian, that he didn't just say he was a Christian, but he lived it? And you could tell that by what he did, by what he said and the values that he stands for."
HEDQUIST SUPPORTED ALAN QUIST FOR GOVERNOR AND ROD GRAMS FOR SENATE IN '94. SHE SAYS MORENO IS CUT FROM THE SAME IDEOLOGICAL CLOTH. HEDQUIST SAYS IF MORENO WEREN'T IN THE RACE, SHE WOULD HAVE SUPPORTED MCKASY.
"But not a very excited one. Tee hee hee. Because Bert McKasy doesnt really um come across to me anyway as being real strong. Whereas Monti does. On all the issues he comes across very strong to me and I like that."
(speech excerpt)
IN HIS SPEECH MORENO QUESTIONED MCKASY'S CONSERVATIVE BY LINKING HIM WITH LIBERAL POLITICIANS AND ARGUING HE SUPPORTS SODOMY. THE TACTIC MAY HAVE BROUGHT HIM SOME VOTES ON THE FLOOR.
355 DELEGATES VOTED FOR MORENO ON THE FIRST BALLOT AT THE CONVENTION. MCKASY SUPPORTER AND NATIONAL REPUBLIC COMMITTEEWOMAN EVIE AXDAHL SAYS THAT WAS ENOUGH - COMBINED WITH THE 618 VOTES FOR BOSCHWITZ - TO DENY MCKASY ENDORSEMENT. AXDAHL SAYS SHE'S NOT SURE MORENO KNEW HE WAS TEAMING UP WITH BOSCHWITZ...BUT SHE SAYS BOSCHWITZ KNEW IT.
"I don't know that Monti is um probably uh educated in the politcal field enough to know that he was doing that. I'm surte that Rudy and his forces would have been aware of theat because most of them are poltically astute. But I don't know that Monti would be that astute."
MORENO IS SUFFICIENTLY ASTUTE TO KNOW THAT BY CONCENTRATING ON SOME HOT-BUTTON ISSUES - SUCH AS HOMOSEXUAL MARRIAGE - HE WILL attract THE SUPPORT OF some of THE REPUBLICAN PARTY'S RIGHT WING. MORENO SAYS HIS ANTI-GAY RHETORIC IS NOTHING PERSONAL.
"Well no I don't have anything against the homosexual people. I have a cousin that's a homosexual. I have a cousin who has AIDS actually. Uh uh uh as a I do hair for a living. I've owned a hair salon for ten years. I taught at a school the number one shcool in the nation before that. Uh uh I've know many gay people I don't have a problem with them, I just don't want their agenda shoved down my throat."
BUT MORENO ARGUES IF HOMOSEXUALS ARE ALLOWED TO MARRY THEY WILL ADOPT MORE CHILDREN, WHOSE PARENTS WILL DEMAND SCHOOLS TEACH HOMOSEXUALITY AND THAT IT WILL BECOME WIDELY ACCEPTED AS NORMAL.
"And you don't have to look too much further than great other nations like Greece and Rome that once homosexuality becomes totally accepeted the countries collapse."
MORENO IS RELUCTANT TO ACCEPT BLAME - OR CREDIT - FOR DIVIDING THE PARTY . HE SAYS THE REPUBLICANS WERE SPLIT BEFORE HE ENTERED THE RACE. BUT WHEN PRESSED HE SAID HIS IMPACT HAS BEEN "SOMEWHAT SUBSTANTIAL."
"I think it's the first time inMinnesota history that they've come out of the convention without an endorsed candidate."
MORENO MAY WELL HAVE HAD A BIG IMPACT ON THE U-S SENATE RACE SO FAR, AT LEAST BY BEING A HANDY TOOL FOR BOSCHWITZ. BUT SOME OBSERVERS SAY MORENO HAS HAD HIS PLACE IN THE SUN. MORENO HAS RAISED ONLY ABOUT 5-THOUSAND DOLLARS AND IS UNLIKELY TO ATTRACT SIGNFICANT SUPPORT BETWEEN NOW AND THE SEPTEMBER PRIMARY. AND MONEY IS PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR AT THIS STAGE OF THE RACE. MORENO SAYS HE'LL SUPPORT WHICHEVER CANDIDATE EMERGES FROM THE PRIMARY FOR A RUN AGAINST DEMOCRAT SENATOR PAUL WELLSTONE.
JON GORDON MPR