Jesse Ventura

Jesse Ventura (born July 15, 1951, as James George Janos, which is still his legal name) was elected the 38th Governor of Minnesota on November 3, 1998, after a career as Navy SEAL, professional wrestler, actor, mayor, and radio talk show host. He ran as a candidate for the Reform Party of Minnesota (now called the Independence Party of Minnesota) and "shocked the world," as he phrased it, when he unexpectedly beat the major-party candidates: St. Paul mayor Norm Coleman (Republican) and Minnesota Attorney General Hubert H. "Skip" Humphrey III (Democratic-Farmer-Labor). Ventura, who spent considerably less than his opponents, is widely regarded as one of the first candidates to effectively use the Internet in a political campaign. He served as governor from January 4, 1999, to January 6, 2003, without seeking a second term.

Controversies as Governor

Education

Ventura was helped through college by support from the G.I. Bill, and he has recommended that individuals join the military to pay for college. During one protest of college students, he said:

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:"If you are smart enough to go to college, you are smart enough to figure out a way to pay for it."

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Religion

In a Playboy interview, he said:

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:"Organized religion is a sham and a crutch for weak-minded people who need strength in numbers. It tells people to go out and stick their noses in other people's business."

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Ventura endorsed equal rights for people who don't believe in God by declaring July 4, 2002, "Indivisible Day" through this proclamation:

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:"WHEREAS: The unique feature of this nation at its founding was its establishment of a secular Constitution that separated government from religion - something never done before; and WHEREAS: Our secular Constitution has enabled people of all worldviews to coexist in harmony, undivided by sectarian strife; and WHEREAS: President James Madison made clear the importance of maintaining this harmony when he said, "The purpose of separation of church and state is to keep forever from these shores the endless strife that has soaked the soil of Europe in blood for centuries"; and WHEREAS: The diversity of our people requires mutual respect and equal protection for all our citizens, including minority groups, if we are to remain "One nation, indivisible"; and WHEREAS: It is the unfettered diversity of ideas and worldviews that have made our nation the strongest and most productive in the world; and WHEREAS: Eternal vigilance must be maintained to guard against those who seek to stifle ideas, establish a narrow orthodoxy, and divide our nation along arbitrary lines of race, ethnicity, and religious belief or nonbelief. NOW, THEREFORE, I, JESSE VENTURA, Governor of Minnesota, do hereby proclaim that Thursday, July 4, 2002 shall be observed as: INDIVISIBLE DAY In the State Of Minnesota."

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Supposedly by accident, Ventura also proclaimed October 13 to 19, 2002 as "Christian Heritage Week."

Related Topics:
October 13 - 19 - 2002

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Pledge of Allegiance

Ventura vetoed a bill to promote recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools, saying:

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:"I believe patriotism comes from the heart. Patriotism is voluntary. It is a feeling of loyalty and allegiance that is the result of knowledge and belief. A patriot shows their patriotism through their actions, by their choice . No law will make a citizen a patriot."

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Outside career

Ventura has been criticized for privately profiting from his heightened popularity. He was hired as host for the failed XFL football enterprise, served as a referee at a WWE wrestling match, and published several books during his tenure as governor. On his weekly radio show, he often criticized the media for focusing on these deals rather than on his policy proposals.

Related Topics:
XFL - WWE

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Cuba

After a trade mission to China in 2002, he announced that he wouldn't run for a second term as governor. During another trade mission to Cuba in the summer of 2002, he denounced the economic sanctions of the US against that country.

Related Topics:
China - 2002 - Cuba

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Wellstone memorial

Ventura greatly disapproved of some of the actions that took place at the 2002 memorial for Senator Paul Wellstone, his family, and others who died in a plane crash on October 25. Ventura said, "I feel used. I feel violated and duped over the fact that turned into a political rally." He left half way through the controversial speech made by Rick Kahn. Because of the rally and other issues revolving around the exclusion of third-party candidates from the resulting election, he appointed Dean Barkley to represent Minnesota in the Senate until Wellstone's term expired in January 2003.

Related Topics:
Senator - Paul Wellstone - October 25 - Political rally - Rick Kahn - Dean Barkley

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The media

Ventura enjoyed an arduous relationship with the local media. He referred to them as "media jackals," a term that even appeared on the required press passes to enter the governor's press area. He believed that the media had unfairly hounded him and his family for personal behaviors and beliefs while neglecting coverage of important policy issues. His wife and children also felt the strain. Specifically, his son Tyrel Ventura was accused of holding late-night parties at the governor's mansion. Later, Ventura told a reporter for The Boston Globe that he would have run for a second term if he had been single, referencing the media's effect on his family life.

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Prostitution

Ventura has produced several controversial quotations. In one of his books, he mentions a visit to a prostitute in Reno, Nevada, and states that prostitution should be legal.

Related Topics:
Prostitute - Reno, Nevada

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Ventura also created controversy with off-hand comments to the local media. In a 2001 interview with the Minneapolis Star Tribune's outdoor writer Dennis Anderson, he referred to his service as a Navy SEAL, and then said: "Until you hunted man, you haven't hunted yet." source

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