Wednesday, September 04, 2013

Sad news

MinnPost (via Jack and Ben) reports that former Sen. Rod Grams is in hospice care:

Rod Grams, the former television new anchor who served one term in the U.S. House and one term in the U.S. Senate, is receiving hospice care at his home after a cancer diagnosis.

The Up and At 'Em show on 1130AM reported the hospice news this morning and a family spokesman confirmed with the AP that Grams is in hospice care at his home in Crown, Minn.
 I met Grams a few years back. He is a gracious man and a principled conservative. He also was the victim of the Mark Dayton attack machine when he lost his Senate seat to Dayton in 2000. For reasons that never made any sense, the behavior of Grams's adult son, who was in trouble with the law, became an issue in that campaign. Grams had built a solid record in office, but he was swept away, in part because of the impact of a third-party candidate, James Gibson.

None of that matters any more. Grams has built a positive legacy and has served his state well. Prayers for him and his family.



2 comments:

First Ringer said...

Terrible news. Grams was always a decent man and good public servant.

This isn't the time to fully dissect Rod Grams' political career, although I would slightly disagree that Gibson cost Grams in his 2000 race. If anything, the presence of the IP probably helped Grams - as it certainly did in 1994 with Dean Barkley keeping Ann Wynia from closing the gap.

I would suggest there were other factors that had more of an impact (Morgan Grams among them).

Mr. D said...

I think Gibson was a factor, but the Morgan Grams "issue" hurt him a lot more. But you're right, this isn't the time to talk about it. I just hope that Rod finds peace and comfort during this difficult time.