One of Rob’s readers at SayAnythingBlog.com pointed out an interesting detail about Tracy Potter, the failed gubernatorial candidate who’s looking for another foot in the door of North Dakota politics: he served the Socialist Workers Party in the 1970s. People who don’t pay much attention to politics are probably tired of the term “socialist” after the past four and a half years, but this one’s documented.

Potter’s name appears under the Socialist Workers Party in the Official Abstract of Votes Cast for the “terribly embarrassing” state of North Dakota (more on that later) issued by the ND Secretary of State’s office in 1976. You can download a PDF of this document by clicking here.

Potter was serving on behalf of Peter Camejo, author of “Racism, Revolution, Reaction, 1861-1877. The Rise and Fall of Radical Reconstruction” (boy, if that doesn’t sound like the last four years!). Camejo was the candidate of the Socialist Workers’ Party, a party of former Communists and other radicals. Is this who you want running the Department of Public Instruction?

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By the way, Tracy Potter doesn’t appear to be a fan of children escaping the womb, either. In a 2007 Bismarck Tribune article he’s quoted as calling North Dakota “terribly embarrassing” for its predominant pro-life stance on abortion. Sounds about right for a leftist. You can download a PDF of this article as well by clicking here.

Strike three: you may not know it, but your land probably falls inside the new Northern Plains Heritage Area, an enormous chunk of land in central North Dakota that Tracy Potter got designated with the help of then-Senator Byron Dorgan. It allows for millions of dollars of your money to be distributed to dubious groups, many of which do NOT have your property rights at heart.

Potter lied about this thing from the get-go, including the fact that his Fort Abraham Lincoln Foundation lied on its tax records. It claimed that it had not paid to lobby Congress on its behalf (PDF available here), when in fact lobbying firm Greystone Group disclosed that it had performed lobbying services for Potter’s Foundation “in excess of $10,000” (PDF available here).

So…here we have a documented leftist radical from a Socialist party; one whose rabid pro-abortion views clash with those of the majority of North Dakotans; and a proven deceiver and advocate against the property rights of North Dakota citizens. Is this the person you’d like to have running the organization in charge of teaching your little kids? I think he views this as a prime indoctrination opportunity.

Potter’s opponent, Kirsten Baesler, has received the endorsements of just about everybody under the sun, from varied ideological standpoints as well. They include:

The Fargo Forum, Bismarck Tribune, Grand Forks Herald, and Dickinson Press;

US Senator John Hoeven, Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, Fmr Governor Ed Schafer, Governor Jack Dalrymple, ND Senator Judy Lee, Tax Commissioner Cory Fong, and ND Reps. Kathy Hawken, Mark Sanford, and Al Carlson;

Organizations such as the ND Education Asssociation, ND Family Alliance, ND Farm Bureau, and ND Association of Realtors

The choice is obvious: elect the radical with a proven history of disdain for North Dakota, dubious associations, and outright deception…or elect an experienced educator and administrator who has garnered support from the gamut of organizations, media, and elected officials.

Don’t put a 60’s throwback radical in charge of our kids’ education. Vote for Kirsten Baesler as DPI Superintendent!