Voter Voice: Farmer
Marianne Combs, 9/27/96

As part of our coverage of the 1996 campaign, Minnesota Public Radio is interviewing voters to find out what issues determine how they cast their votes. Minnesota Public Radio's Marianne Combs interviewed a farmer in southeastern Minnesota and has this report:

47-year-old Michael Clemens owns a farm in Byron, just west of Rochester. He's married and has three kids. Clemens used to drive a truck for the Teamster's union; he says he made more money then but the life of the farmer is better suited to his personality:

- I'm like most farmers, head-strong I suppose, and don't like people telling me what I have to do, whether I have to punch the clock - y'know we'd just like to be our own bosses more than anything else."

According to Clemens, such independence has gotten in the way of progress for farmers, because they are hard pressed to agree on and lobby for any one topic, a fault he says the government uses to its own advantage. Clemens says it's hard to believe in the political process when the average person's lobbying competes with thousands of dollars from corporations with political interests. Clemens says he witnessed the power of lobbyists first hand on a recent trip to Washington:

I walked into these office-buildings - senators and congressmen - and here I am - I bought a suit (laughs) moths got to it - only wear it twice a year for weddings and funerals and I pull it out and the jacket's full of holes. So I am down with a dress shirt and tie on, waiting to see a congressman or a senator. These guys came in with thousand dollar suits..."well he'll be right with you" - y'know...I been waiting 15, 20 minutes - COLD - I don't have the money or the time to spend on lobbyists - "

Clemens says because of coporate lobbying, big hog farms and chicken ranches produce mass amounts of pork and eggs without worrying about the environmental impact. Or about edging out the small scale farmer.

Clemens works long days in fall and spring...the hours don't let up much in summer and winter when he goes over his books and speculates on the coming year. Clemens says farming is his life, and the affects of farming are felt in all areas of his life, from health care to education to the environment. He's been keeping a close eye on Congress and the White House and says he's disappointed by the frequent stalling on capitol hill:

- I'd like congress to be more bi-partisan...the old way, since 92's election, seems to be one party against the other and nobody gets along and you just can't get things settled. I mean there's just got to be compromise."

Clemens is putting two kids through college, but he says it's not easy to save for an education when most of his money is tied up in his land. Any extra profits are set aside to buy new equipment, so that he won't have to spend so much money maintaining the old equipment he has now. He says saving money has meant cutting back on other necessities, like health care:

- Basically right now I'm uninsured. It's been out of my pocket - things have been really tough since 1990 on. The first thing that went to shave costs was hospitalization insurance."

Clemens says he hasn't decided who he'll vote for this fall, but he's leaning toward Clinton. He says it would be easier to cast his vote if he believed the candidates would stick to their platforms and fulfill their promises, but after past elections he's lost his faith in the candidate keeping his word. Clemens says he would have voted for retired General Colin Powell if Powell had run. Yet when asked what it is about Powell that he admires, Clemens is hard-pressed for an answer:

Colin Powell is a leader...he's somebody that... it's a soundbite maybe, but what you see on the TV's, what you read in the papers - I haven't bought his book or read it, but from what I've seen on tv and in the papers, he seems like a leader. I think that's how Clinton got elected - "It's the economy stupid!" - he stood for something. Republicans took over congress - they said here's ten points - whether you agreed with them or not is irrelevent - I'm just saying they said here's ten points we're gonna do!" 34 secs

Clemens says what he wants most out of the presidential election is...less. He says two months is enough time for voters to get to know their candidates, see a couple of debates, and cast their vote. He says a two year campaign takes up too much of the public's time and money.

In Rochester, I'm Marianne Combs, Minnesota Public Radio.