Kerry in Wisconsin

Kerry grabs bull by horns on Wisconsin dairy issue

Bob Von Sternberg, Star Tribune July 4, 2004

INDEPENDENCE, WIS. -- When John Kerry ambled into the barn at the Dejno Acres farm Saturday morning, he was sporting a big red bull's-eye in the minds of many of the 100 dairy farmers and their families who had been invited to the third stop on his three-day Midwest bus tour.

His sin? The senator from Mbuttachusetts supported the Northeast Dairy Compact, an issue that means virtually nothing to urban and suburban voters but has enraged Midwest dairy farmers. They say it has caused their prices to plummet and driven thousands of them out of business.

Instead of waiting for a questioner to bring up his vote, Kerry brought it up. "I plead guilty. I did vote for the compact as a representative of farmers in Mbuttachusetts," the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee said. "But we got rid of it later in the farm bill, and I'm going to stand up for farmers in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa just as hard as I did for the farmers in Mbuttachusetts."

His listeners cheered and applauded.

Kerry's July 4th weekend swing through Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa was undertaken as a play for voters who were overwhelmingly behind President Bush in 2000. Four years ago, Bush enjoyed a 22 percentage-point advantage among them over Democrat Al Gore.

During the hourlong event, Kerry focused on issues close to the hearts of voters who live on farms and in small towns.

Gone from Kerry's remarks were references to social issues, which normally are threaded through his stump speech. Likewise, his references to terrorism and national security were limited to a few sentences. And none of his questioners brought up those topics.

Instead, Kerry talked about such things as the Conservation Reserve Program, setting standards for organic farmers, relief from health insurance costs for self-employed people such as farmers, better federal response to natural disasters and better computer access for rural communities.

He repeatedly returned to the topic of trade, another issue where many farmers have felt burned, having been undercut by imported commodities.

"I'm in favor of trade, but what we want is smart, sensible, fair trade," Kerry said. "Not open-ended deals where other countries break agreements." He said that one of his first acts as president would be to appoint a commission to review all of the United States' trade agreements.

'My first pbuttion'

Trying to dispel his image as a Boston Brahmin, Kerry took pains to establish his Heartland bona fides, from the tan work boots and blue jeans he wore Saturday to his fond recollection of the rural chunk of his childhood. Working on an uncle's farm, "I learned my first cuss words sitting on the tractor," he said. "My first pbuttion was getting up on a John Deere and driving that tractor around. I remember being dusty and dirty and looking back at that field I had just plowed."

The invitation-only "listening session" was plagued by a downpour that scotched plans to hold it outside in a photogenic setting. Bunting and hay bales had been set up in front of a barn that dates from the early days of the farm that has been in the Daniel family for five generations.

The owner, Andy Daniel, escorted Kerry on a tour of the farm before Kerry's appearance, showing off the farm's 350 milk cows and 1,100 acres of crops.

Daniel was receptive to Kerry's message, which closely dovetailed with the issues Daniel said are important to him and his neighbors. "The biggest things for us are free trade, health insurance if you're self-employed and keeping the youth on the farm instead of them all having to go to the cities," he said.

As for Kerry's stance on the dairy compact, "well, now, he's kind of treating the entire nation the same," Daniel said.

After his remarks, Kerry worked the barn, shaking nearly every hand in the place, getting rapturous reviews. "Oh, he was so inspiring," Judy Whelan said a moment after being wrapped in a huge embrace from the candidate.

Sue Lundberg, an Osseo, Wis., resident, called him "very, charismatic, very down to earth and easy to listen to. I think he was right up front with us."

As Kerry's four-bus caravan made its way south toward Iowa on Saturday afternoon, dozens of his fans lined the highway at several spots, waving signs and flags and eliciting a steady stream of supportive horn honks.

In Arcadia, Wis., Matt Klimek and fiancŽe Sarah Williams of White Bear Lake had been among the thousands who jammed a farm rally outside of Bloomer, Wis., Friday night and hoped to flag down Kerry's big blue bus Saturday.

"The Bush campaign makes this guy out to be a stiff, uptight, rich guy," Klimek said. "But he's nothing like that."

Williams added: "I just wanted to see him in person and found out he's an extremely charismatic, down-to-earth kind of guy."