Report on Nader & LaDuke in MN

Robert Rafn reports:

Ralph and Winona visited MN yesterday, 4/7, and the visit was very successful all the way around. With only 4 days to get the word out (the time and location hadn;t been confirmed until Monday), we distributed 6000 1/4 page leaflets and 1000 full page flyers and sent out tons of e-mails to get the word out. We filled U of M Bell Auditorium to capacity, had people sitting and standing in the aisles, and standing room only in the lobby.

The audience was very enthusiastic, and although the speeches were barely audible in the lobby, the standing-room-only crowd stayed there through the whole thing (!?!) straining to hear an occasional faint word or two every 5 minutes! Now that's dedication! Bell Auditorium holds 450 people, and we probably got about 550 or so.

During Ralph's speech, we quietly passed a hat through the audience for donations (at last count I heard we took in well over $2000), as well as s ign-up sheet and 1/6 leaflets telling people when and where the campaign meetings are. Our current meeting location holds about 60 people - I have a feeling we're going to need to expand soon.

Though not making the huge media splash we might have liked, Ralph and Winona's visit to the Twin Cities also got some press coverage. I will follow this e-mail with the text of the press release that was sent out to get media to the press conference. At the press conference were the local CBS and ABC TV affiliates, public radio, the CBS news radio affiliate, the Star Tribune, Associated Press and NY Times, among others.

Tasya Rosenfeld from KFAI community radio did an exclusive interview with Ralph shortly after his arrival in MN...WCCO also aired their coverage, and mentioned both Ralph and Winona. But what really shocked me was that they gave a fairly accurate, and bold, summary of the campaign: WCCO's Don Shelby announced that Nader's campaign intends to "address moneyed interests and corporate control of the political system." It blew my mind that they were willing to say that on the air.