Patriot Radio Rally.

My wife and I were privileged to be able to attend the Town Hall rally last evening, sponsored by AM 1280 The Patriot.

National radio host Hugh Hewitt was the moderator for this event.

The lineup of speakers featured Senator Norm Coleman as well as other prominent Republicans looking to represent Minnesota in Congress.

-Alan Fine, republican candidate in the 5th Congressional District. Fine’s particular race has drawn national attention due to the prospects of his opponent, democrat Keith Ellison, becoming the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Congress. Ellison himself has been under tremendous scrutiny due to his ties to the Nation of Islam as well as some anti-Semitic statements he allegedly has made. Ellison is so controversial that even the Star and Sickle Tribune must be nervous. So apprehensive is the Strib that they went ahead and totally misrepresented events surrounding an 11-year old domestic dispute between Fine and his former wife. While they aren’t crazy about Ellison, I guess the Star Trib wants to make this race a “lesser of two evils” decision. While I admire Fine and his convictions he would bring to Washington, a set of those wind-up chattering teeth could run as a Democrat in the 5th and still receive a majority vote. To say Fine has an uphill battle would be an understatement.

-Michele Bachmann, republican candidate in the 6th Congressional District. By far the most impassioned speech given last night was delivered by Bachmann. Her race against Democrat Patty Wetterling has also drawn national publicity, in part because of Wetterling’s shameless exploitation (and flat out lying) in regards to the Mark Foley scandal. Nonetheless, Bachmann has continued to run her campaign with the same conviction and enthusiasm which has made her one of the more high-profile local politicians. While other Republicans in national races have distanced themselves from President Bush, Bachmann has graciously welcomed his efforts to boost her election prospects. Her passionate stance on family issues has made her a favorite amongst true conservatives.

-Mark Kennedy, republican candidate for the U.S. Senate. Fresh of his “Meet The Press” debate with democrat challenger Amy Klobuchar, Kennedy assured the audience that the polls showing him 21 points behind were absolutely false. While he made no bones about the fact that he is indeed trailing (maybe by 8 or 9 points), Kennedy made a plea to us in the base to mobilize our efforts these next three weeks because he is actually within striking distance. With Republicans having a scant 55 to 44 majority in the Senate, a pick-up here of a Democratic held seat (Senator Mark “Evacuatin’” Dayton is vacating his position) would all but ensure the GOP maintaining a majority. Besides, as Kennedy has so eloquently stated, you don’t change Washington politics by sending another lawyer. However, D.C could use at least one CPA, which Kennedy happens to be.

How critical is it to have the majority in the US Senate? When Senator Coleman was elected in 2002, he became, at the time, the 51st Republican senator. That allowed a judge by the name of John Roberts to receive an up-or-down vote on an appointment to a Federal appeals court. As we all know, Judge Roberts is now known as Chief Justice Roberts, Supreme Court of the United States. Now, with five of the nine justices over 70 years of age, there will be an opportunity to re-shape the Supreme Court for many years to come. I know I’m not thrilled at the prospects of Senator Pat Leahy (D-VT) heading up the judiciary committee should the Democrats wrest control of the Senate.

And the House of Representatives? How about Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and House Majority Leader John Murtha?

Need I say more?

Hewitt then wrapped up the evening with an insightful 30-minute monologue concluded by a Q&A session.

Captain Ed Morrissey live-blogged this portion of the event.