Collin Peterson had to come clean to a group of DFLers in his district this weekend: He hasn't been faithful.
"I understand that there's folks that are disappointed at some of my votes," Peterson told a DFL gathering to nominate him as their candidate this November. "And I get that message and I take it to heart."
The Agriculture Committee chair was referring primarily to his "no" vote on health care, which likely struck a cord with some Democrats in western Minnesota. But Peterson, a member of the Blue Dog (moderate) caucus in Congress, knows he walks a fine line as a Democrat from a fairly conservative district.
Peterson said he did not object to the portions of the bill to increase access, but rather the fact that it did not adequately address rising medical costs. He added that he wants to ensure the bill is implemented correctly, rather than trying to repeal it.
"This election now I think is going to center to a large part on repealing the health care bill," Peterson said. "That's going to be the mantra. That's going to be what people are out there talking about in this election...I am not going to be part of it. [applause]"
Peterson said he and other Democrats who voted against the bill will, over the next four or five years, try to tackle aspects that were not included -- such as rising medical costs and prescription drug prices.
A video of the speech, below, shows a woman holding a sign reading "Collin Come Home." Apparently referring to the sign, Peterson acknowledged that since becoming a committee chair he hasn't "been around as much as I used to and I haven't been able to keep in touch as much as I used to," but they need to "be together in this election."
