Severson says he has the network to win

Posted at 1:49 PM on May 18, 2012 by Tom Scheck (2 Comments)
Filed under: Campaign 2012, Campaign 2012: Minn. Senate Races

With MPR's Conrad Wilson...

ST. CLOUD - Former Minnesota Rep. Dan "Doc" Severson took the stage in St. Cloud pushing a platform backed by "new American's and minorities." A former Navy pilot, Severson was the first Republican to announce his candidacy for U.S. Senate a year ago.

"I'm the only one running with a proven track record," Severson said. "I'm the only candidate with name recognition and an effective state-wide ground game."

Severson also mentioned that he received 1 million votes in his 2010 campaign for Minnesota Secretary of State. He lost that bid to DFLer Mark Ritchie. Severson also mentioned that Republicans haven't won a statewide election since 2006. He said Republicans have to reach out to nonwhite voters in the Twin Cities.

"We need to reach out to conservative groups in the inner city," he said. "I'm the only candidate who has reached out those minority communities. And in fact I've spent the last two years forging relationships."

Severson said, if elected, he'll work to repeal the federal health care law, the Dodd/Frank financial regulation bill and push to audit the federal reserve.

Severson also said his fingerprints were on the two proposed constitutional amendments that will be on the November ballot. He was an author of the definition of marriage amendment when he served in the Minnesota House. He also pushed for requiring people to show photo identification to vote.

During a video presented to the delegates, Severson touted his work on the so-called photo ID amendment.

"In 2010, I fought for photo ID and narrowly lost that battle to a [George] Soros funded incumbent but we won the war," Severson said. "Photo ID will be on the ballot in November."

Listen to Severson's speech here: Listen

Comments (2)

This is why Severson isn't going anywhere in his US Senate bid. He touts his opposition to two issues of top concern to minorities -- keeping ObamaCare's enhanced access to health care and support for Voter ID, which will disenfranchise a disproportionate number of minorities -- then says he's been reaching out to them. Gee. I wonder how that outreach is going. "Hi, I think you should be uninsured and you shouldn't be allowed to vote even though you're a citizen." I hope Severson is enjoying the final minutes of his US Senate campaign, before it crashes after the results from the first ballot are announced. A complete tin-ear politician.

Posted by Tom | May 18, 2012 3:01 PM

Severson brags about sponsoring the marriage amendment in 2005, but I still remember watching that floor debate, and I wouldn't exactly call that his finest hour. Steve Simon tied him in knots asking him a series of questions about what "the legal equivalent of marriage" meant, and then Phyllis Kahn topped it off by asking him to give a clear explanation of the differences between a man and a woman, to which Severson just kind of sputtered helplessly while the DFLers were quietly shaking with laughter. It started getting so embarrassing that Severson's GOP colleagues started coming to his aid with defenses like, "Come on, guys, Doc is a simple, honest man. Stop befuddling him with all your city slicker lawyer trick questions!"

Posted by Chris | May 18, 2012 4:23 PM

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