"If he meets with us, he'll vote yes."
“If he meets with us, he’ll vote yes.” S said this with such confidence I almost believed her. She was talking about the “freedom to marry” bill that would legalize marriage for same sex couples in Minnesota if it passed—and about our state representative, a conservative Democrat whom we’d met at the county convention when we were delegates. S had raised her hand and asked the candidates what they were going to do about animal cruelty. This legislator spoke eloquently about his wife’s role on the board of the local Humane Society, and how he had passed a law in the small town where he had served as mayor limiting the number of pets any single family could have. To say that my animal-loving daughter fell in love with him after he gave that answer may be a bit of a stretch—but when he won the election, she approached his wife and said, “I have a campaign slogan for you and your husband. We could make dog clothing that says, “Pet owners vote for M!” His wife awkwardly shook S’s hand...