Opinion: We appreciate Rick Nolan

I appreciate Rick Nolan.

After Chip Cravaack broke the stranglehold Jim Oberstar had on the 8th Congressional District seat in 2010, Rick Nolan came out of political retirement and challenged Cravaack two years later. He won handily.

Now, I was a fan of Chip Cravaack, although I didn’t vote for him and didn’t agree with his politics. But he embodied what I believe is the spirit of American politics: representative democracy by engaged citizens, willing to work for the people. Cravaack, unfortunately, was not a particularly effective politician, so his greatest legacy was preventing Jim Oberstar’s 18th re-election. And, while Oberstar was a legend to many, change is good, sometimes, especially in politics.

Rick Nolan was good for the 8th District. He was the kind of old-school liberal that accurately reflected the district’s conservative views on many issues. In other words, Rick Nolan was a real representative. He did find it a bit challenging to lead in today’s “winning party takes all” political climate, where the winning party feels they have a mandate to shove their lopsided agenda onto everyone. Rick, on the other hand, understood that he represented everyone in the 8th, not just the liberals. While he favored big government and believed taxes were a positive instrument to fund good government, he also supported mining and tried (with little success) to keep American dollars at home rather than funding more military intervention and economic assistance in foreign countries. He also championed Second Amendment rights.

I also appreciated Rick Nolan for his stance on Obamacare. He voted in favor of the Affordable Care Act but realized it needed a lot of work to make it effective. His subsequent actions showed he was willing to tweak the bill to make it work. He supported small business — being a small-business owner himself — and large business, realizing that mining companies, for example, need reliable permitting processes for nonferrous mining such as copper and nickel. It was that position that drew a challenger to his seat, Leah Phifer, and eventually led to his decision to not seek re-election to Congress.

Many also believe he decided to forgo Washington, D.C. in order to stay closer to home, as his daughter had significant medical issues. That’s honorable.

Of course, Rick Nolan was still a progressive Democrat. He favored Obamacare, women’s reproductive rights and opposed the Citizens United decision on campaign spending. In fact he worked to limit and reform campaign cash. He supported Bernie Sanders for president in 2016. He wants to see Obamacare evolve into Medicare for all. And boy, oh boy, could he give a rousing speech.

He didn’t fear working with the “other side” and had no problem with compromising, a talent which has become a bit lost lately. I’m looking forward to his appreciation dinner tomorrow night at the Four Seasons sport complex in Carlton.

The dinner will be a big gala affair, with political celebrities from all around the 8th District and beyond, plus a lot of us ordinary little people who simply want to join a party to thank a good politician for his service. The program starts at 7 p.m. and is preceded by a social hour at 4:30 p.m. and dinner at 5:30 p.m. It may be too late to get tickets, but you can try by calling 218-355-1652. Hope to see you there.

Pete Radosevich is the publisher of the Pine Knot News community newspaper and an attorney in Esko who hosts the talk show Harry’s Gang on CAT-7. He can be reached at [email protected].