Norm Coleman Speaks ...
May, 1997
On Abortion
"I am pro-life. I have a very deep and profound appreciation for life--very deep. I've felt the power of life.... I had a child who was going to die: What choice do you make? To me it's very clear. We were blessed with the opportunity to have children and share the moments we had with them, their power, their presence, and their soul, and who they are. The affect they had on us--life is very precious. I'm not always out there on the stump about it, but I am who I am.... When you get elected mayor you don't lose your First Amendment right to stand up for what you believe....It is who I am. I'm proud of that."
On School Choice
"I think our function should be to provide the best quality education for
our kids. Public education needs to be strong, but so does private education. I got an award from the Conference of Catholic Educators. One of the things I said when I received the award was that we often talk about how it takes a whole village to raise a child--part of the village is parochial education. In St. Paul it's about 20 percent of the village in terms of who's educating our children. It's important to keep that strong. It's important for this community ... I believe giving choice to families is important."
On the Homosexual Movement
"What we have had in Saint Paul and Minneapolis for many years is[the ritual of] signing a joint proclamation making it gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender month. I will say that I support human rights. I do not believe anybody should be discriminated against. And of course that includes sexual orientation.... On the other hand, I've felt very strongly that it wasn't government's responsibility to give proclamations for people's sexuality. That's not a role of government.... I don't think government has a responsibility to issue awards for one's sexuality."
On a Minnesota Defense of Marriage Act
"Marriage and family is the basis of our society--that is the basis. And I think it's very fair and appropriate for government to speak up about that. It's legitimate to say that we should do things that protect, defend,and enhance it. There is a range of different lifestyles out there, but government needs to strengthen the family. That is our future--it really is."
On Minnesota's Projected $2.3 Billion Budget Surplus
"I think people need to get something back. Start with that. On the other hand, I think you need to make some structural reform so that over the long term we're very clear that we're doing the right thing with our tax system--that we're doing the things that generate more economic opportunity."
On Taxes, Government Spending, Economics
"If at the end of the day the question is whether we need more money in the pocket of Mom and Dad or in the pocket of government, I'd put it in the pocket of Mom and Dad. Are there choices that families can make or choices that the government makes?
"That's not to say we don't need a safety net--I believe government has a role there. I tell people there's a difference between the safety net like in the old days of the circus where you'd fall off the high wire,you'd hit the net and bounce off and fall back on your feet, versus a web. Government's become a web--we foster dependency. ... Things that we can do to see that Mom and Dad have a job--that's good for the family."
On Recently Becoming a Republican
"I think the [Democratic] party left me a long time ago. I haven't personally shifted in this position in terms of who I am and what I believe...
"It's very tough being in the Democratic party and being pro-life. It's very tough being in the Democratic party today if you're pro-choice in education. It's very tough being in the Democratic party today if you don't sign a proclamation making it gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender month... I said where I was at, I raised the ire of a lot of people in the[Democratic] party, and in the end I decided it's not worth fighting anymore. I'm not fighting in little internal politics now, I'm just running the city, being who I am, and I'm much happier about it."
Back to the PFN Front Page