I see that a past political opponent of mine has taken it upon herself to attack me and several other legislators for attending a recent conference ("Three legislators should be replaced," Carol Sawicki letter, April 27). While her letter certainly makes for interesting reading, it does not give, as Paul Harvey often says, "the rest of the story."
First, rather than being a "corporate-sponsored political rally," the meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council was a bipartisan conference dealing with issues important to North Dakota, such as education, health and human services, agriculture, commerce and economic development, telecommunications, information technology and energy. The task forces assembled at the conference brought forward answers that lawmakers across the nation have developed to deal with these important issues. Through dialogue with fellow legislators, I was able to bring home new ideas in these areas, while also sharing with them solutions that we have developed here in North Dakota.
Second, the keynote speakers at the conference that I attended were former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani and retired Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf. Their presentations were awe-inspiring. Considering the perilous times in which we live, I consider it an honor to have been able to hear directly from these two American heroes about the situation our country faces in winning the war on terror in the months and years ahead.
Finally, by reading the letter questioning us for attending this meeting, you would think that those who attended the conference were away from Bismarck for an extended period of time. In fact, we were absent for only one day. The knowledge gained from attending the conference was extremely helpful in dealing with the future of our state. I believe the one-day absence was certainly justified, despite the politically motivated criticism that it generated.
Rep. Blair Thoreson
ADVERTISEMENT
R-Fargo
