VENTURA'S VIEWS DRAW FIRE IN MINN.
Calls For Resignation Follow Playboy Article

(St Paul, MN)-- In a storm of angry reaction, state political leaders and many
average citizens rebuked Gov. Jesse Ventura on Thursday for his
remarks in a Playboy magazine interview.

Senate Majority Leader Roger Moe called on Ventura to apologize to
Minnesotans for his comments about religion and sexual harassment, and
the head of the state Republican Party said the governor should
consider resigning.

"I can less and less take him seriously," said Tom Duke, executive
director of the St. Paul Area Council of Churches and one of many
church leaders who spoke out against Ventura's comments. "And it's
unfortunate that he undermines his own leadership."

Ordinary Minnesotans -- including some who voted for Ventura last fall
- -- also criticized the statements Ventura made in a long interview in
the November issue of Playboy magazine.

Marc Peters, a machinist from Savage who voted for Ventura, said he
was fed up with the governor. "I'm a Catholic and I don't appreciate
it at all," Peters said of Ventura's statement in Playboy that
organized religion is a "sham and a crutch for weak-minded people."

Another Ventura voter, Colleen Hauser of Burnsville, said: "I thought
Jesse was going to be kind of a breath of fresh air, and some of the
things he's doing are way out of line."

Hauser, an apartment-complex manager, said she was particularly
offended by an offhand comment by Ventura that if he were reincarnated
he would want to come back as a brassiere.

"I thought it was vulgar," Hauser said. "I'm a woman, and I don't
appreciate that kind of comment."

In the Playboy interview, Ventura said he has smoked marijuana and
sees nothing wrong with that. He also said no one should be imprisoned
for either prostitution or drug offenses.

In an attempt at damage control, Ventura late Thursday afternoon
issued a public letter to religious leaders. "While organized religion
has not been a major influence on my adult life, I respect the beliefs
and choices of others, including my close family members," he wrote.

Ventura said he has no plans to apologize to anyone for anything he
said in the interview. "I did the interview, and I said what I said in
it," he said. "If people don't understand what I meant, I'm not going
to apologize for it."

Moe said none of Ventura's explanations Thursday changed Moe's
conclusion that the governor owes an apology to the people of Minnesota.