Twin Cities Host Committee turns to a wrestler to pull in convention volunteers...

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

And no... it's not Jesse Ventura.

In another sign of just how much the Republican National Convention is hurting from the lack of volunteers, they're now trying to pull in wrestling fans to help.

What If You Threw a Party Convention and No One Came?
Or rather, volunteers didn't sign up to turn the wheels of the party machinery? Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) reports that the Minneapolis-St. Paul 2008 Host Committee is scrounging to fill its volunteer roster for the Republican National Convention in September. They’ve even tapped the imposingly bulky Kenneth Anderson, a.k.a. “Mr. Kennedy” of Friday Night SmackDown fame, and Minnesota Viking Matt Birk to appeal in ads to Minnesotans’ civic honor and sign up for duty. Here’s Anderson in one of the ads:

Minneapolis-St. Paul is hosting a championship match, the 2008 Republican National Convention... This convention matters to our cities and we need your help no matter what your political affiliation.... Let’s show everyone what Minnesota Nice really means.

One slight problem with the wrestler they chose though. It appears that Kenneth "Mr. Kennedy" Anderson has had some steroid problems.

Sports Illustrated reported last year that Mr. Kennedy's name (Ken Anderson) came up after federal and state agents raided a pharmacy and "anti-aging clinic" in Florida.

Ken Anderson, a/k/a Mr. Kennedy, lost to Eddie Guerrero in Guerrero's final match on Nov. 11, 2005. Kennedy received shipments of anastrozole, somatropin and testosterone between October 2006 and February 2007.

SI and other news outlets say Anderson (we'll refer to Mr. Kennedy as Anderson the rest of the way) may have been suspended by the WWE because of links to steroid use (the WWE wouldn't release the names).

Oops.

The Utne article says they are now at 8,900 volunteers toward their 10,000 volunteer goal.
Denver on the other hand has so many volunteers they had to limit their service to 4 hours each.

Meanwhile... Over at the McCain campaign. Their head economic advisor called the United States "a nation of whiners" in a "mental recession"

And the Obama campaign's quick response:

“One of Senator McCain’s top economic advisors may think that when people are struggling with lost jobs, stagnant wages, and the rising costs of everything from gas to groceries, it’s merely a ‘mental recession’. And Senator McCain may think it’s sufficient to offer energy proposals that he admits will have mainly ‘psychological’ benefits. But the American people know that our economic problems aren’t just in their heads. They don’t need psychological relief – they need real relief – and that’s what Barack Obama will provide as President,” said Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton.