Folks, if you've never been a person interested in politics, I can understand why. Personally, if I was given a choice, I'd rather have a sister in a whorehouse than a brother in the Minnesota legislature.
But I'm going to personally ask a favor of you, because I want you to know that you are making a difference. Your voice is being heard, and it's being heard loud and clear.
And the message the legislators are hearing is: "Pass the stadium bill and keep the Vikings in Minnesota."
How do I know that? Because Jeff Anderson, the Director of Corporate Communications for the Minnesota Vikings, called me earlier and told me as much.
"The intensity of this issue has risen significantly in the last two weeks and is at an all time high," Anderson said. It's now or never, this is your last chance to weigh in on the measure, and legislators are hearing from the pro-stadium voters at a pace that far outpaces the anti stadium voters."
The Vikings are asking for your support over the weekend to keep the full court press on, make your voice heard, and get this thing done.
The staff of Daily Norseman would like you drop what you're doing and call or email your representative and senator in the Minnesota legislature. Let them know that voting no on the Vikings stadium bill is unacceptable, and they will pay a heavy price politically in November if they do vote no. When you call or email--be polite and respectful, but also be firm and resolute that under no circumstances will they be getting your vote if they vote no.
Then, call your friends. Tell them to call or email. And if they're anti-stadium folks, hey, they're good people and they're still your friends. But unplug their phone and Internet until Tuesday morning.
"But Ted," you ask, "how do I know who my representative is? How do I know who my senator is?"
Why, fellow Vikings stadium supporter, let me hook you up. If you're not sure who your state rep and state senator are, click on this link:
http://www.gis.leg.mn/OpenLayers/districts/
Type in your address. Your state rep, state senator, and US reps and senators will be listed. Click on the STATE representative's name, and his/her contact information will come up, to include phone number and email address. Make a call. Send an email.
It also wouldn't hurt to call or email the respective Democratic and Republican party leaders in the House. For the Republicans, the Speaker is Kurt Zellers. The House Majority Leader is Matt Dean. The Majority Whip, which is the person that is responsible for 'whipping' up votes to make sure you have enough to pass a bill, is Rod Hamilton. For the Democrats, the Minority Leader is Paul Thissen, the Deputy Minority Leader (well, one of them. The Democrats have literally a dozen deputy Minority Leaders) is Debra Hilstrom, and the House Minority Whip is Terry Morrow.
I can't stress enough that when you call or email--BE POLITE. You'll be talking to that rep's staff member, and they're fielding literally thousands of calls, and hopefully, that number will only increase over the weekend. Ripping their head off serves no purpose, so don't be a dickhead.
But let me assure you, Vikes fans, that YOUR MESSAGE IS BEING HEARD, LOUD AND CLEAR. Hopefully, your message will become so loud and so clear over the weekend, that the only politically viable answer for your representative will be to vote yes. The pro-stadium calls and emails are routing the anti-stadium ones, and if we can really turn up the heat, we're going to win.
Throughout the weekend, the Vikings may be holding some rallies for stadium support with prominent Vikings players. As those are announced, we'll post them here on DN, and we encourage you to attend and make your voice heard even more.
What I thought was damn near impossible a little over two weeks ago is tantalizingly close to happening, but this is not the time to put it on cruise control. Drink a Monster, push on the gas pedal, and help get this thing across the finish line.
We're almost there folks. Just a few more days, and a few hundred thousand more calls and emails.
Well, what are you waiting for? Get on the phone!