MPR Special Coverage: 1976 Minnesota State I-R Convention: DAY 3 - Endorsement of Gerald Brekke

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Endorsement of Gerald Brekke as I-R senatorial candidate announced, with a summary of Brekke's speech to convention.

Read the Text Transcription of the Audio.

Good afternoon from the st. Paul Civic Center. This is Bob Potter reporting from the 1976 date independent Republican party convention. The delegates here have unanimously endorsed Jerry brockey is the US Senate candidate to run against Hubert Humphrey. And this November election brekkie is a college professor from Gustavus Adolphus College in st. Peter, Minnesota.He was opposed on the on the one ballot that it took care by B Mooney a nurse from from the 8th District from Chisago County. She is got grounded only a handful of votes of the rules haven't been suspended to eliminate they printed ballot and take the Evolve simply understanding valid. She ever received a handful of oats and later at move that the endorsement of brekkie be unanimous and indeed it was in his preliminary remarks before the convention brekke outlined his position on several controversial issues after having been called on to do so by a member of the audience. He said that he is pro-life on the abortion issue. He said that with gun control while he personally has little use for the weapons. He does not believe that restriction of guns would do much to control the criminal element called for mandatory sentences for those who use guns in crimes. He said he would not oppose the Equal Rights Amendment. In fact, he tackled head on the argument used by many of those who do oppose era the idea that women might be drafted into the military service break. You said that his wife serve for four and a half years in the service during the time that Britain was at war with with Germany in World War II and you said that in a time of danger such as War when a country is a very existence is threatened. It's up to everybody to pitch in and appraise the women who have served in late in the armed forces and apparently doesn't think that that would be a tremendous to turn even if the era did lead to a to such events. He said he he called the busing mandatory School busing a bunch of bunk. Andy called instead of busing for more teachers in the schools criticizing the federal aid to education programs for bringing a lot of teacher aides into the school's whom he said replaced actual teachers. Break, his name was placed in nomination by national committeeman Rudy boschwitz who has had some fairly complimentary things to say in the past about Senator Humphrey. In fact on an interview on these stations one-time Humphrey said they'd rather a bus with said that in order to oppose a candidate you'd have to really feel in your heart that the person. Not being office and Flash with said he didn't have that feeling about Humphrey in there for that was one of the reasons he himself wouldn't oppose Senator have free but today and placing brekkies name in nomination. Foxwoods criticized the Senators record. He said that he has money liabilities. He said that he's only paid off for cents on the Dollar on his previous campaign debts criticized him for you for having the campaign manager who was convicted of a felony that reference of course to Jack Chestnut, press assistant. He said who accepted corporate contributions erase the questionable $50,000 gift Howard Hughes to Humphrey and they also brought up the Elizabeth Ray charges that she has also known Senator Humphrey as well as other a top leaders in Washington. Brickies acceptance speech was in comparison to The Address given and Duluth by Senator Humphrey a very brief one lasting only about 5 or 6 minutes Senator Humphrey talk for about 50 minutes and at the beginning of the address brekkie noted that Senator Humphrey forgot to even say that he accepted the nomination break. You said that wasn't a mistake he was going to make I think that we have that that tape of the brekkie speech here and with a bit of luck will bring it to you and it lasts about 5 or 6 minutes. I'm not going to take any more of your time. If you folks will just take a chair and join me later. I want to say two or three more things. I want to say something to the working press I used to be a newspaperman and I was a newspaper man for years. And I still got a little printer saying and I want you to know that this independent Republican party has nominated one of those newspaper people in this regular didn't like to. And I think maybe that will help a little bit. Maybe we will have some friends on our side who know that I know what they have to put up with. And I want to congratulate those people in the working press and electronic media for what they're doing because they did something that we needed done. They help to make this an honest party. They were the independent Republicans have cleaned house. Now, let's see the other side do it. And let's give some thanks to those newspaper man that we were criticizing a few years ago. They did us some good. They helped us be straight and honest and we've got rid of our creeps. Now let them do what they can to help their where they Democrats get rid of their trucks. That that waterbed Scandal is only the tip of the iceberg. Just wait what you're going to see in the future. How serious are the independent Republicans about this party? I want to tell you that there are people all over this state that have been calling me calling my house calling my wife getting old my family and saying we're behind you. I think they're just there's a host of people at Minnesota hooven Independence much as myself people who are saying we need a new voice. We're tired of tired policies. We're tired of 1940 and 30 economically political science theories that have been spotted at us for all this time. This party is adopted Dakota principals and one of the great principles in there among those 10 principles is recognition, right along left and it's been needed for years of the Dignity of Labour and you shot there we believe And I recognition the right to collective bargaining. Worry, we've got all kinds of labouring men that are tired of being ripped off and they're going to do what they can they're back as they called me up and told me that we've got teachers on our side. And there isn't any question about all of the farmers in Minnesota and throughout this whole country been waiting to have somebody run some time for office and it dries under his fingernails. Well I have One of the things I'm going to have to do during this political campaign to take off a week or 10 days to go out and try to harvest what little that have starved weed. I got left. Because we didn't get much rain. I don't think Mr. Humphreys going to come and try to get my vote though, because I'm going to be cross the line. I'm in the Red River Valley, but my farm is across and he'll probably say I'm out of state and I hope he does because the chance to say something I'd like to say about him. You know in Minnesota where you've always prided ourselves on homegrown politicians and supporting our own candidates that man is already collected more money to run in this campaign. And then this trip up the independent Republican party has promised to me. But 95% of it came from out of state. You want somebody from out of state to buy your election? We have a chance and wonderful chance. I think at this particular time to bring to the electric. the need for a referendum a referendum in a sense through a vote of confidence. Now I vote of confidence means if your vote for mr. Humphrey that you support his spending policies. I don't think you do support those. I think you would rather have somebody who believes insane and sensibly genomics. You know, and I know and I mentioned it to you before. Hey I visited your pockets is the other day in the last five years. He has introduced or helped to sponsor bills, which if they had not been vetoed or disapproved by his more sensible colleagues would have would have added 233 billion dollars to the existing national debt. And we don't want that kind of person representing Minnesota because we know what that does. We know that that's inflation. We know that that's the quickest way to the Poorhouse. We don't have all that confidence in government, but he didn't stop there and if he had stopped I probably wouldn't have been one of your candidate. Like when I was a kid I have, you know, I went to school where we we had a good teacher at night and she taught us something about this country in the American system, and I'm proud to be an American and I'm proud to have confidence in this free enterprise system. and in one of the things that the that we learn and I'm not that I want to remember it I guess. Is it people need an opportunity? But they don't necessarily want to be somebody's Wards and he's introduced to build a humphrey-hawkins build. Which when I when I look at it, it reminds me of some kind of scenario that you'd read like 1984. Here you are. Imagine yourself in a country where the national Planning Commission decides which industry is going to make it and which isn't or are they decide who's going to work and where they're going to work? I don't like that place is that I find these five year plans and National planning commission's most of them are in places like a Soviet Russia or some of these black comedy this country and that's what the man is proposed. I don't want to go on at length about it today. I'll be having plenty of time to speak about it. But this country deserves better than the senator from Minnesota and representing Us in Washington who would like to change our way of life to that extent and I think the best way we can do that is is to have some compassion for mr. Humphrey. He's 65. I think we should plan for him a very nice and very pleasant. Very enjoyable retirement party next November. Thank you. Thank you so much. The acceptance speech of the endorsed candidate by the independent Republican party for the US senate seat Jerry brekke. Jerry brekke was endorsed unanimously after a very brief opposition by another candidate B, Mooney. and the ghettos, of course face a very uphill fight against Senator Humphrey this fall, but he will as he says provide a referendum on some of the spending issues particularly with which some people may disagree with Humphries on so that's about it for the moment from the Republican convention our live broadcast of this event made possible infarct with funds provided by the Minneapolis Star. This is Bob Potter reporting and now back to listeners choice and dominelli. What does independent Republican party has nominated one of those. I'm not going to

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