At about lunchtime Saturday, more than 100 people were scattered around the Capitol Rotunda in St. Paul watching a broadcast of the Washington "Rally to Restore Sanity" on a small projection screen.
"It appears we disagree. Would you like some pie?" read one sign in the crowd. "Keep fear alive or the terrorists win," read another.
The volume was muted – to the dismay of some spectators – to make way for Independence Party candidate Tom Horner. One of the organizers, clad in an oil-soaked pelican costume, rose to a podium to note that "we do not necessarily support what he has to say, but we do support his voice."
"Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert are obviously tough acts to follow," Horner said. "But look at what I will have to follow as the next governor in Tim Pawlenty."
Horner stressed that other candidates are reducing the future of the state to "bumper stickers." He then took shots at Republican Tom Emmer and DFLer Mark Dayton.
"We have one candidate who wants to turn back the clock to 1994, the Republican Revolution. We have another candidate who's running on the basis of a department store that was closed a decade ago."
Horner's message for the day has been encouraging people to vote for the best candidate, rather than casting a ballot based on the possibility of another party's candidate winning.
"I would ask you, as the sign up there says, 'Stop being afraid.'"
Following the speech, Horner acknowledged he has "road yet to travel" in the polls but noted that many voters are still undecided. He said Emmer has reached a "ceiling" and again put the crosshairs squarely on Dayton supporters.
"For either Emmer to win or Horner to win, one of us needs to take some of Mark Dayton's votes. I can't imagine Tom Emmer being able to get any of Mark Dayton's votes. You can see me winning some of those votes. I think there are a lot of Dayton voters who believe I would be the better governor."