Posted: 7/31/06
Democratic candidacy for Congress is complete change of venue for FBI whistle blower Coleen Rowley
by T.W. Budig
ECM capitol reporter
Peeking inside Coleen Rowleyís house a person can imagine an F.B.I. field office ó office clutter, documents dangling on the wall.
But outside thereís a high-mileage van with a Rowley for Congress sign bolted to the roof and another campaign sign at the base of the steep driveway leading to the Rowley familyís Apple Valley home.
Itís a complete change of venue for the 9/11 whistle blower.
Something wholly new.
Rowley, 51, said the closest she came to elective politics previously was when one of her best friends in the 8th grade ran for school office ó Rowley was her speech writer.
ìI am really not very political,î said Rowley during a recent interview.
Thatís officially changed.
Challenging three-termer John Kline
Democrat Rowley is challenging three-term Republican Congressman John Kline in a three-way race in the 2nd District rounded out by Independence Party candidate Douglas Williams of Chaska.
Although Rowley believes in her heart Kline can be beaten, with almost startling candor the attorney and 24-year F.B.I. veteran detailed perceived limits to her candidacy.
For openers, thereís money.
A rule of thumb is a congressional campaign needs to raise $1 million, Rowley explained. So far her campaign has raised about half the amount. And if they canít afford to buy ads, sheís going to have a very difficult time, said Rowley.
Indeed, when DFLers first approached Rowley about a possible bid for Congress, one aspect of running that gave her pause was the need to raise money.
ìIíve just got zero sales ability,î said Rowley.
With a smile, Rowley explained as a Girl Scout she sold the fewest number of boxes of girl scout cookies in her troop ó 11 boxes.
And about half of these she sold to her grandmother.
ìIím not that type of person who can sell,î she said.
Rowley concludes while she has a ìteeny bitî of name recognition, only about one person in ten knows who she is when she meets them.
Rowley doesnít fault the public.
ìAnd to be honest, the memo (to the F.B.I. director concerning the Zacarias Moussaoui investigation) and stuff doesnít have a lot to do with the issues right now,î said Rowley.
Except in a conceptual way, she explained.
Certainty runs through Rowley politics
For all the challenges confronting her ó unlike talking point politicians Rowley gives lengthy answers, sometimes assuming a ìWhose-been-eating-my-porridgeî tone when discussing the thoughts or words of others thatís unusual for a candidate but perhaps not for a mother of four and grandmother ó a streak of certainty runs through Rowleyís politics.
ìI think Iím right about the issues,î she said. ìI have been right about the Iraq War. Iíve been right about a lot of things,î said Rowley.
A native of Iowa, her father, Larry Cheney, a mailman, Rowley was a gifted student who wanted to be an F.B.I. agent since the age of 11 and who fulfilled her ambition in 1981 after graduating from the University of Iowa law school.
Athletic, Rowley for a time held the F.B.I. record for the womenís two-mile run.
Rowley had several postings before being transferred to the F.B.I.ís Minneapolis field office in 1990, for a time working in New York City on a unit investigating the Colombo Crime Family.
A French major in college, the F.B.I. had Rowley learn Italian and Sicilian.
On Aug. 15, 2001, the famous case of Zacarias Moussaoui began when a Pan Am flight school manager called the F.B.I. Minneapolis field office to report a suspicious trainee who paid in cash and spoke about only wanting to learn how to take off and land.
Agents immediately sensed that Moussaoui was a terrorist and subsequently arrested him.
But a dispute ensued between the Minneapolis field office and F.B.I. headquarters over search warrants ó would a criminal warrant or a warrant issued under federal foreign intelligence surveillance law be best?
Rowley, as the Minneapolis field office chief legal counsel, offered advice and later became upset enough over the interagency squabble to write a letter to then F.B.I. Director Robert Mueller in May of 2002 which, among other things, alleged F.B.I. headquarters had intentionally raised ìroadblocks.î.
The letter launched an investigation of the F.B.I.ís handling of intelligence information related to 9/11.
Rowley is proud of having written it.
She and two other famous whistle blowers were Time Magazineís People of the Year in 2002.
Important issues brought forward by Rowley
But a Justice Department Inspector Generalís report later opined that Rowley lacked experience in foreign intelligence surveillance law, was wrong in alleging deliberate sandbagging by F.B.I. headquarters, but credits her with bringing forward important issues about the handling of the Moussaoui case.
Rowley faults the recently declassified report for failing to see that the Minneapolis office had worked out a ìbetter planî for dealing with Moussaoui after being denied a foreign intelligence surveillance warrant.
But Rowley does criticize herself for not pushing harder as chief legal counsel.
ìI told the I.G. (Inspector general) folks from the start, I wish I would have done more,î said Rowley.
She judges the report as not having much of an impact politically.
Rowley retired from the F.B.I. in late 2004.
Although perhaps identified with liberal causes, Rowley doesnít readily fit the slot.
As other DFL candidates have done in the 2nd District, she embraces elements of conservatism.
Rowley voted for Texas Governor George Bush in the 2000 presidential election.
And in the past she has voted for most Republicans in most elections, she explained.
ìIn a way John Kline and I have a lot in common,î said Rowley.
But Rowley, offering a dictionary definition of the word ìconservative,î depicts Republicans in Washington as living upside down existences where big government, deficit spending, a callousness toward constitutional liberties ó stuff Republicans should recoil from ó have become acceptable.
And Rep. John Kline is part of it, she argues
Rowley is sharply critical of the Bush Administrationís handling of the Iraq War.
She rejects the idea the conflict is simply a war on terror.
ìThatís just pulling the wool over our eyes. Because itís (the war) very complicated now,î she said.
Can Kline be beaten?
Sen. Marko says Kline can be beaten
Sen. Sharon Marko, DFL-Cottage Grove, believes he can be beaten ó Kline is more interested in following the president than attending to the district, she argued.
Marko considered jumping into the 2nd District race, but for several reasons ó she views the 5th District DFL primary battle as sucking up local campaign contributions, for one ó decided against it.
In 2004 Kline easily defeated Democrat Teresa Daly and Independence Douglas Williams by winning about 56 percent of the vote.
Kline sees a difference between Daly and Rowley.
ìMs. Rowley isnít taken seriously by her party,î he said, pointing to Rowleyís campaign warchest as evidence.
Kline views Rowley as ìparroting backî formulated Democrat rhetoric out of Washington ó she views Kline as walking lockstep with the Bush Administration.
As for the notion of Republicans Gone Wild, Kline justified increased spending on national defense as inevitable when fighting a global war on terror.
Kline indicated he could agree to debate Rowley. But she would need to stick to the issues, he explained.
For Rowley, that Kline hands out literature at parades featuring recipes for popcorn balls, shows the congressman wants to avoid them.
Kline believes his literature is standard campaign fare. And he views the Rowley campaign as injecting negativism into everything, even parades, he explained.
Rowley and her husband Ross have been married for 25 years.
Their home in Apple Valley, with well-used climbing trees in the yard, may be highest point in the city, said Rowley.
Rowleyís ancestors, the Cheneys, were early settlers in the 2nd District, according to a Rowley campaign biography.
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