GRAND FORKS -- I felt a need to write in reference to the Howard Dean Democratic rally that'll be held Saturday in the Alerus Center while voting is taking place.
I need to state up front that I am a Republican and chairperson of the District 18 Republicans. That, however, does not preclude me from saying how I feel about this on an ethical basis, whether it is the Democrats or Republicans holding this event.
I have long felt that North Dakota is a place where common sense prevails, and ethics are a priority. Election laws are likely not being broken. They are not well defined enough to be used in a "gotcha" game.
But can we honestly say that what is being done by the Democrats at the Alerus Center is ethical? It goes against the grain of everything we were raised to believe about campaigning and voting going hand-in-hand at polling sites.
Several days ago in a phone conversation with an Alerus Center official, I was told that the two venues are far apart, and if anything is illegal here, it is on the Democrats' shoulders, not those of the Alerus Center. But does the Alerus Center need to book an event that borders on being unethical?
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I was raised to believe that "If you doubt it, don't do it." Let's remember that the Alerus Center is a taxpayer-funded building. I hold its officials as culpable as the Democratic Party for letting this event take place.
I'd like to believe that voting is still sacred in North Dakota and would ask that the Democratic Party examine what it is doing when it comes to events such as this. There are other great venues in Grand Forks to choose from rather than a location where voting is taking place.
Maybe the idea of doing this because people can should be replaced with "doing what is right."
Beth Bouley
