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Tuesday, September 16, 2008
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Libertarian candidate travels state
Staff Writer Charles Aldrich, the Libertarian candidate for U.S. Senate, is on a two-month trek in which he hopes to visit all 87 Minnesota counties before the Nov. 4 general election.
He started last week in International Falls and is working his way south. On Sunday, his campaign pulled into rain-soaked Brainerd.
Aldrich is seeking the Senate seat currently held by Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn. Also seeking the seat is Democratic candidate Al Franken and Independence candidate Dean Barkley.
"I really want to get the message out that there's a choice and you don't have to choose between the lesser of two evils," Aldrich said. "I have talked to people and they say, 'Yeah, they're the lesser of two evils but it's still evil.' I hope I can be the good guy."
Aldrich's top five issues include the need to drill domestically for oil; stopping subsidies for corn-based ethanol and instead promoting sugar beets for ethanol; stopping federal taxes and fees on renewable energy for five years; restricting adjustable mortgage rates so only investors can get them; and stopping federal funding of child support, which he said costs taxpayers hundreds of dollars for every 33-cent benefit to a child.
Other issues Aldrich is campaigning on include stopping the occupation of Iraq four years after the war ended, moving education back to the states, saving Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac and have a plan to turn them over to private enterprise, supporting active troops with equipment and supporting veterans once they leave the service.
Aldrich said government should be restricted by the Constitution and success shouldn't be measured by spending more money than in the previous year.
He said the Republicans, who historically have been for smaller government, have managed in the current administration to grow government faster than the previous administration, which was Democrat.
"With the Libertarian Party, what they say is what they actually mean," Aldrich said. "Either (Republicans) are not being honest with their beliefs or their telling people what they want to hear. There needs to be a change in what's been happening in Washington."
Having collected the 2,000 signatures needed to be on the statewide ballot, Aldrich is the only Libertarian candidate in Minnesota for U.S. Senate.
He first ran for the U.S. Senate seat held by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., two years ago, but was unable to get on the ballot because 80 of his 2,050 signatures were discounted. Aldrich also was on the ballot four years ago for a state representative seat in Burnsville.
A resident of Alden in southern Minnesota, Aldrich is employed at Aerospace in Blue Earth. He has a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering with minors in computer science and math.
He served four years in the Marines as an aviation electronics technician. He has three children: a 21-year-old daughter, a 19-year-old daughter and an 18-year-old son.
MATT ERICKSON may be reached at matt.erickson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5857.
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