Arne Carlson, Former GOP Governor, Endorses Obama

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Arne Carlson, a former Republican governor in Minnesota, has endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Carlson said Thursday that the Illinois senator's stances on the Iraq war, the economy and green energy goals won him over. Carlson, who served from 1991 to 1998, also cited recent comments by GOP Congresswoman Michele Bachmann questioning whether politicians have "pro-America or anti-America views."

"Regardless of our party, regardless of our partisan inclinations, there is no interest more compelling than the interest in the well-being of the United States," Carlson said at a gathering of Obama supporters at the state Capitol.

Carlson added, "He has laid out for this nation a vision for a national purpose."

Carlson was considered a moderate Republican during his two terms in office. This isn't the first Democrat he has backed for political office. He said he considers himself "a Republican maverick."

Minnesota's current governor, Tim Pawlenty, is a strong supporter of GOP hopeful John McCain. Carlson said he wasn't approached about endorsing McCain or asked to remain neutral.

Comments

[thecanadian]

Support a man of integrity! Support Carlson. VOTE See the entire U.S. voting map/locations at
Vote. posting on at least 3 blogs, per day reminders to VOTE EARLY and ABSENTEE VOTE.

Refer them to Senator Obama's website for their states guidelines regarding VOTE EARLY/ABSENTEE VOTE in their state.
http://www.barackobama.com/voters/

[KQuarksSuperKollider]

One of the biggest half truths of the Republican Party is that American corporations pay the most taxes because we have higher tax rates then most countries. Most other countries have a far less complex system for giving corporations huge tax breaks. Tax burden is a much better measure of what corporations pay in taxes in the US compared to the rest of the world. US corporations pay the 37th LOWEST tax burden for the top forty industrialized nations. Jobs move overseas because Republicans give them tax breaks to do so, those other countries have cheap labor, other governments subsidizes industries and other countries like Canada has much lower medical costs per employee. For example a US company spends on average $6,000/employee on health care per year while Canadian companies pay $800.

Check out the tax burden by country.

http://www.forbes.com/global/2006/0522/032a.html

[bronxlcsw]

Its great to see that Evil will be defeated and fear will be rejected in 12 days. I know alot of Moderate Rockefeller Republicans who are voting obama. The Party is over for the Neocons and ultra right wing. One prominent GOP member of congress predicts 275 House seats for Dems and close to the 60 seat senate. He predicts this dem dominance will be like post depression America when they went with FDR and Dems for decades. The Republican Party may have to do what they did in Iraq with the Bath Party, abolish it and reconstitute as another name like the Pro-Life party or other name. This is what Rove had in mind for the GOP after the 2002 midterms when dems lost 4-5 seats and the country was pro war and solidly behind Bush... Here is where real leadership was missing after
9-11. If Bush would have gone on TV and said addressed the nation with a call to sacrifice in terms of enlisting in the army or other things. However the more dramatic thing was to say to America we need to break our ties with the Middle East and as such we will need to be energy independent as a matter of national security. To do this we need a 1 dollar per gallon surcharge on gasoline.

[KeithMayass]

shaking in your boots eh ?

[Grunty1]

Arne Carlson? About a great many GOPers, I would agree, but no, not Carlson.

[BTJ46]

Arne Carlson is a good man and was a decent governor -- even though I campaigned for candidates against him.
I'm certain that we disagree on many issues, but his example shows the kind of dialog we can look forward to if we can get through the last of Karl Rovian politics and change the way politics is done in this country.
Thank you Governor for your service and your insight.

[Rictracee]

THIS SITE BREAKS IT DOWN WITH THE TRUTH
http://www.conservativesforchange.com/

[Grandmama]

This is just AWESOME!

Take a look and then pass it on!

[Ish11]

This is begining to look like the superdels thing in the primaries. Love it!

[joshuahmcdonald]

Our country is undergoing a revolution of conscience. Progressives have for several years now been completely disillusioned with the political process. That is, in fact, what drew many of us to Obama in the first place. If you read "Audacity of Hope" you can clearly understand that this is of grave concern to him.

That said, we are now being joined by MANY conservatives who are even more distraught than we as they feel their Party has been hijacked by radicals. And yet, I want to admit publicly that it is not just the Republicans who are at fault. I live in San Francisco and will never again vote for Nancy Pelosi. The right is absolutely correct to denounce her as a Democratic partisan and I will no longer support demagoguery regardless of ideology.

Once Obama wins I predict a radical remaking of our political process and our Party affiliations. While neither the Democratic nor Republican Parties may completely dissolve, their individual and collective power, which has too long been fed by corporate money and greed, will be radically diminished as we enter a new era of collective conscience.

We may not always agree on issues, in fact we will most assuredly never fully agree on any issue, but we should NEVER accuse others of anti-American sentiment. It is time to turn the page.

[Biffmeister]

There is nothing wrong with being a partisan, per se.
A criticism of Obama is that he has voted along party lines a high percentage of the time. This criticsm lacks validity if the legislation voted on is in the interest of the people.
Please substantiate your remarks about Pelosi.

[joshuahmcdonald]

We need balance. I am NOT a Democrat and try not to describe myself as a Liberal. However, given that I am 38 years old, our country has been skewed to the right since I have reached voting age and thus I have always voted for Democratic candidates for President (in local races I find myself fairly evenly split along Democratic, Green and Libertarian lines). I evaluate every candidate and every issue independently and do not vote with the Democratic Party just because they tell me to.

Thus, while Obama has indeed voted with the Democrats while in the Senate, I believe, after reading his books, that he has done so not out of a Democratic Party loyalty but rather out of a desire to reach balance.

Nancy Pelosi, on the other hand, has often acted as a Democratic Partisan. The most recent example of this was her speech prior to the vote on the bailout bill. This partisan speech of blame and condemnation was unacceptable. No, it does not excuse the votes of House GOP members, but it was unnecessary and inexcusable nonetheless.

Her position on Iraq, her taking of impeachment off the table, nearly every political action she has taken in the past 8 years has been entirely about Democratic power. I am done with her. Agree or disagree as you see fit...I'm the one who lives in her district.

And yes, I DO believe that there is something wrong with being partisan...per se.

[janet1003mn]

Thank you so much for your intellectual honesty, joshuahmcdonald. You gave me a new favorite quote: "I will no longer support demagoguery regardless of ideology." I plan to use it when my more right-leaning family members and acquaintances ask for whom I'm voting.

On another note, in the wake of two national-scale humiliations for my state of MN--first the "Obama's an Ay-rab" woman at the McCain rally and then the Bachman bomb--I can hold my head up again because my favorite governor in my lifetime, Arne Carlson, did the right thing. But then again, I'd expect no less of him. And from the reactions I'm reading here, either there are a lot of fellow Minnesotans at Huffington Post today, or his fine reputation crossed many state boundaries.

[furryone]

as a former resident of Minneapolis, I was a proud DFL'er (the MN Democratic Farm Labor party), but Carlson's tenure was very good for MN and was the last time MN had a GOOD governor!
WTG ARNE!

[DrFrescas]

Nice! Glad to have you on-board.

[Archivist1000]

WAY TO GO ARNE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now for the rest of you >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>..

GO VOTE EARLY if you can .... but VOTE ! Take NOTHING for granted, it aint over 'till it's OVER ....

GO VOTE EARLY if you can ... you or someone you love might get sick on Nov 3 or 4 and you
might be unable to go!

GO VOTE EARLY if you can .... there may be problems at the precincts .... don't be caught out !

GO VOTE EARLY if you can ... Obama has been working his butt off for 2 yrs, just for this one
DAY .... don't let him down, when he needs YOU

GO VOTE EARLY if you can .... elections are won one vote at a time, and the result lasts 4 yrs!

[BarackMan]

Orrin hatch needs to be thrown out of the Senate....

President Obama '08!

[roshni]

Kudos for mentioning Bachmann. That woman needs to be gone YESTERDAY!!!!

[andreaRN]

When I grew up as a Democrat in a blue collar union family, Republicans were considered wealthier, more pro business and more conservative but there was give and take and common ground. Where are the Nelson Rockefellers and Gerald Fords, public service minded decent human beings? Thank you Govenor for letting me know your party still has people of goodwill. When did extremism and hate become the hallmarks of the party?

[Rictracee]

I love it.. GOP 's conversions all over the place.. Obamacans coming out.. 'I'M COMING OUT. I WANT THE WORLD TO KNOW, GOT TO LET IT SHOW....