DFL state convention gets underway in Rochester
ROCHESTER - The state DFL convention is underway. There's not much suspense about the main order of business-- endorsing U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar for a second term.
DFL party chair Ken Martin welcomed delegates Saturday morning by urging them to re-elect Klobuchar and President Barack Obama, and to defeat two constitutional amendments that will be on the ballot this fall.
"President Obama has asked all of us if we are in for 2012," Martin said. "I want President Obama to know that we have heard him and his call to action."
The crowd responded with shouts of, "I'm in!"
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Martin said DFLers must vote against the two constitutional amendments, one that would require Minnesotans to show identification at the polls before they can vote and another that would define marriage as between a man and a woman.
"Who are we, as a people, to tell two committed, loving same-sex individuals that they cannot marry each other?" Martin said. "What kind of state do we want to leave to our children?"
Groups opposing both amendments have a noticeable presence at the convention, taking down delegate information, and passing out buttons and signs.
Martin also used his opening speech to attack the Minnesota Republican Party, which has been troubled by financial woes and leadership turnover.
The DFL party is united while Republicans are "in disarray," Martin said. The Republican party has been "beset by scandal, riddled with debt, and torn apart at the seams by infighting," he said.