The folks of Iowa built these wind turbines.
And Mitt Romney says, "NO!"
NEW DEMOCRAT HERO.......
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- A Minnesota Democrat who had a rest-stop sexual encounter with a 17-year-old boy said Wednesday he's still running for re-election, defying party leaders who urged him to drop out as they battle to regain control of the state Legislature.
Rep. Kerry Gauthier, 56, told Northland's NewsCenter in Duluth that he will let people in his district decide his political future, "rather than the political power base in St. Paul." Gauthier told the news network he is "a better person than this incident portrayed me."
Police say Gauthier admitted engaging in oral sex with the boy on July 22 after the first-term lawmaker from Duluth advertised on Craigslist for "no strings attached" sex. Police declined to charge him because the boy was older than 16, the legal age of consent, and no money was exchanged.
Gauthier has not returned repeated calls and messages from The Associated Press since the scandal broke.
"I am sorry for the hurt this has caused my family, friends and my constituents. I know I made a mistake and am determined to make amends as best I can," Gauthier said in a statement posted online by the Duluth News Tribune.
He appeared in a photo on the network's website with a few supporters. In the interview, Gauthier explained his hospitalization last week as the story became public by saying he had taken several muscle relaxants and lost consciousness.
"I took an overdose of pills to not feel any pain and this resulted in my hospitalization," he said in the statement, adding that he has been in recovery from chemical dependency for 30 years with one relapse.
Gauthier told the station his unwillingness to accept he is gay led him to engage in the inappropriate liaison in a public place. He said he is getting counseling. He also said he feels badly for the teen and wouldn't talk specifically about the incident to protect the boy.
"I can change my behavior, but I cannot change the fact that I am a gay man, and have known this since my college days. I simply must act like a mature gay man would act, and not as the incident portrays me," the network quoted him as saying.
Rep. Tom Huntley, a Democrat whose Duluth district adjoins Gauthier's, told the Duluth News Tribune he considers Gauthier a "child molester."
"Why would anybody support someone that did what he did?" Huntley said in an Associated Press interview. "I am a strong supporter of gay rights, but that does not mean 55-year-olds with 17-year-olds. And I just can't imagine the public would approve of that."
But Gauthier has support from labor activists, including Alan Netland of the Northeast Area Labor Council.
"He had a personal problem but it doesn't affect the fact that he's a great representative for working people," Netland said.