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DFLers enjoy a fight-free state convention
May 22, 2004

Former presidential candidate Sen. John Edwards, D-S.C., works the crowd at the DFL convention in Duluth. Edwards is mentioned often as a potential running mate for Sen. John Kerry. (MPR Photo/Mark Zdechlik)

Duluth, Minn. — (AP) - Bash Bush. Avoid acrimony.

The dual mission summed up the DFL state convention Saturday, an affair that showcased an uncommonly cohesive party.

Speaker after speaker - including possible vice presidential candidate Sen. John Edwards - denounced President Bush while talking up his Democratic challenger, Sen. John Kerry. Along the way, delegates averted some of the infighting that has plagued past party gatherings.

Behind all the bliss is the party's fervent desire to take back the White House in November.

"We know one thing," said Attorney General Mike Hatch, "George Bush certainly unifies us."

We haven't had a president probably since Nixon that people not only dislike his politics but also dislike the individual. This is one of the higher degrees of unity we've had in the party. - Rick Stafford, DFL delegate

The convention's tone reflects a Democratic Party that is more focused and determined than ever, said delegate Rick Stafford, 52, of Minneapolis, who has attended the last 16 conventions.

"We haven't had a president probably since Nixon that people not only dislike his politics but also dislike the individual," he said. "This is one of the higher degrees of unity we've had in the party."

It also helped that there were no endorsement contests for statewide offices and that the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center was filled with scores of first-time delegates who don't carry the scars from old battles.

One potential sore spot was defused early when the activists crafting the party platform decided against revising the DFL's long-held statement in support of abortion rights. The platform committee shelved a proposal to strike a phrase opposing limits on "safe and legal abortions" in favor of a vaguer reference to "a woman's choice over her reproductive functions."

Adopting a platform was the most weighty decision before the 2,700 delegates and alternates. They spent most of their time listening to addresses from top elected officials.

The keynote came from Edwards, a former presidential candidate himself and a prime contender to be Kerry's running mate. The North Carolina senator had his audience continually bouncing between their chairs and their feet.

"There is so much at stake in this election. I got to see upclose - sometimes a little too upclose - how strong John Kerry is as a candidate," Edwards said.

He went on to describe Kerry as "a man of strength, conviction, backbone, courage, discipline and a man who has all the qualities of leadership."

Bush, he said, "has no idea what's going on in the real world. He is completely out of touch. It shows in everything he does because he does not see, does not feel, does not understand and does not care that we do live in a country where there is two different Americas."

Minnesota Republican Party Chairman Ron Eibensteiner said his party's convention next month will touch on Bush's bold agenda for the nation domestically and internationally. He criticized the tone of the DFL convention.

"Their unity is simply based on anger - anger at the fact they're out of power," Eibensteiner said. "They got whupped in the last election and they're angry."

Supporters of Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich's presidential campaign were strongly represented in the convention hall and they got about 10 minutes on center stage.

State Sen. John Marty of Roseville said he and other Kucinich supporters will be ready to join Kerry when it counts, but they will keep pressing Kucinich's signature issue of creating a U.S. Department of Peace.

"It's time for us to speak out," Marty said. "It's time for us to work for peace. It's time for us to support the peace platform."

Based on his showing in March precinct caucuses, Kucinich is entitled to at least nine of Minnesota's 86 delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Boston this July.

(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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