The Scum at the Top
Commentary on the Rats in Washington
Using body language, Ventura backs Kerry
By Conrad Defiebre
StarTribune
© October 23, 2004
With nods and gestures but nary a spoken word, former Gov.
Jesse Ventura indicated his support Friday for Democratic
presidential candidate John Kerry, apparently reversing his
previous statement that "I have no one to vote for."
At a bizarre State Capitol news conference, the often outspoken
Ventura stood beside former Maine Gov. Angus King behind a
Kerry-Edwards campaign sign and let his fellow political
independent do all the talking.
King, dressed in a charcoal gray business suit, concluded a
long statement criticizing President Bush and praising Kerry
by saying: "I could not remain quiet and not speak out when I
saw my country in danger."
Ventura, wearing casual clothes, nodded agreement.
"He plans to vote for John Kerry," King said. "But he doesn't
want to make a statement and subject himself to the tender
mercies of the Minnesota press."
Except to correct a mistaken King reference to a Vikings
football player, Ventura stayed mute throughout the event.
When reporters asked if he had authorized King to speak for
him, Ventura gestured in an apparent signal of acquiescence.
Later, as TV cameras pursued him to his Porsche convertible
parked outside, the former pro wrestler, movie actor and
talk-radio host said: "I have no scheduled interviews. I'm
heading to Los Angeles, where all interviews will take place."
Before driving off, his last word to reporters was: "You
attacked my children."
Ventura has long nursed a grudge over media accounts of boozy
parties at the governor's mansion that were hosted by his son,
Tyrel. He also has often expressed a preference for the
treatment he has received from national reporters compared with
those in Minnesota. At his previous State Capitol appearance,
for the unveiling of his official portrait last November, he
also refused to deliver a speech or answer reporters' questions.
Friday's news conference was staged by a group called Independents
for Kerry-Edwards Minnesota, which issued two news releases.
Neither one quoted Ventura.
"Jesse Ventura's grumpiness is a perfect fit for John Kerry's
gloomy and pessimistic outlook on America's future," state
Republican chair Ron Eibensteiner said in a news release.
"Ventura exhausted any goodwill or credibility he had with
Minnesota voters a long time ago. Having Jesse 'The Malcontent'
Ventura's support -- albeit silent support -- is yet one more
liability for John Kerry in Minnesota."
Sea change
As recently as Sept. 21, Ventura, who was elected governor
on a Reform Party ticket and later bolted to the Minnesota-only
Independence Party, said he did not plan to vote on Nov. 2. He
also has said he would never vote for a Republican or Democratic
candidate.
"This is sort of an abrupt change in his philosophy and
principles," said John Wodele, who was Ventura's official
spokesman during his tenure as governor from 1999 to 2003.
"It may be a sign of a larger movement of independents who
are actually repulsed by party politics to either the Bush or
Kerry camps. It probably means a huge turnout."
Wodele attributed the trend to a fever pitch of public emotion
over terrorism and the war in Iraq. As for Ventura, Wodele said,
"the whole issue of the management of the war has really got
him upset."
Ventura, who still collects contract payments from the cable
TV network MSNBC long after his talk show was canceled last
year, has been active lately on behalf of Operation Truth, a
group that addresses policies affecting military reservists and
National Guard members.
Speaking in Washington, D.C., last month, Ventura said Bush
would not have volunteered for the National Guard as a young
man if it had meant going to war. "Our commander-in-chief won't
serve overseas, or decides not to, but yet is now sending all
our National Guardsmen to do things that he wasn't willing to
do," he said.
King, who said he voted for Bush in 2000, attacked what he
called the president's "heedlessness of consequences," extreme
partisanship and especially his conduct of the war and
burgeoning federal deficits. He said Ventura decided to back
Kerry after watching the presidential debates and came to his
stand "for similar reasons."
Also appearing at the news conference in support of Kerry was
Jack Uldrich, a onetime Republican congressional candidate who
served in Ventura's cabinet and as chairman of the Independence
Party.
"We appreciate the former governor's endorsement," Stacie
Paxton, spokeswoman for the Kerry campaign in Minnesota, said
of Ventura. "He joins a long list of independents and Republicans
supporting John Kerry because George Bush continues to make
the wrong choices on jobs, the war in Iraq, health care and
other issues important to Minnesotans."
Conrad deFiebre is at cdefiebre@startribune.com.
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