Thickly falling snow did nothing to keep David Lillehaug, a DFL candidate for U.

Monday, February 14, 2000

Thickly falling snow did nothing to keep David Lillehaug, a DFL candidate for U.S. Senate, off the roads Sunday.

He was on the second leg of a two-day trip around southeast Minnesota, seeking to raise grass-roots support for his campaign to unseat GOP incumbent Rod Grams.

"Yesterday I went to Winona and Rochester," the silver-haired Lillehaug said. "I stayed overnight with a farmer, and then today I am visiting Austin and Albert Lea."

Lillehaug considers Grams the most vulnerable incumbent in the U.S. Senate. Differing with him on several issues, he wasted no time drawing lines where he would do things in ways Grams has not.

"I am speaking to ‘people’s economics,’" Lillehaug, a former U.S. attorney, said. "That’s the idea that everyone should be able to share in our country’s wealth. I think that means that people are working harder and deserve their share in the prosperity."

One area where he sees people being denied their share is whenever a new merger of already-giant corporations happens.

"This is a disturbing rush to consolidation," he said. "The end result of this merger-mania is usually holding down wages and cutting off fringe benefits for workers. We need to also apply our anti-trust laws."

He also mentioned the Freedom to Farm Act – also known to him as the "Freedom to Fail Act" – and the milk pricing system.

"Grams wants to see it changed, he said, but he doesn’t have the clout to get it done," Lillehaug said.

He is also keen on campaign finance reform.

"Grams never met a multinational he didn’t like," Lillehaug said. "I stand for people’s economics, he stands for multinationals and their economy."

He noted that in his travels, rarely does he hear that Rod Grams has ever been to the small towns of Minnesota.

"The guy is really out of touch," Lillehaug said.

Lillehaug also would like to see the end of managed care.