Politics Schmolitics
Because Tim asked, I've added yet again to the long long list of links at right. I need to do some house-cleaning, I think, cause this is seriously getting ridiculous.
Anyway, the question was "What ever happened to the Independant [sic] ticket you were exploring? Wasn't it a Minnisota [sic] Independant something or other?" The answer is yes, it was, and it is right here.
The links at right are necessarily accompanied by a little explanation, as I appear upon viewing to be supporting two candidates for most races. (I'm a big fan of instant run-off voting; this is perhaps evident of such.) In reality, it's actually all in the timing. The Minnesota DFL primary isn't until September 12, at which point I will be voting for Becky Lourey, the candidate who was NOT endorsed by the DFL. It is thus unlikely that she will win, but she is nevertheless defying the establishment and refusing to remove her name from the race, which I think is excellent because she has much better public policy than her opponent.
For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about when I say DFL, you will be interested to learn that Minnesota is the only state in the union that does not have a Democratic party. Instead, we have the DFL, which stands for Democratic Farmer-Labor Party, and is the last holdover from the Populist parties of the early twentieth century. Minnesota elected 3 Farmer-Labor governors in the 1930's and 4 Farmer-Labor U.S. Senators between 1923 and 1941. The Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party merged with the Minnesota Democratic Party in 1944. They are today the de facto Democrats; national DFL office-holders caucus with the Democrats.
As far as the Senate race goes, even though I am more in agreement with Independence Party candidate Robert Fitzgerald, I'm supportive of
Amy Klobuchar for U.S. Senate because she's actually likely to win; the last Strib poll showed her with a massive lead over the Republican in the race, whereas nobody knows who Robert Fitzgerald is.
Moving on to the House race, we have a very strong Republican incumbent with whom I have concerns, the most important being that he seems to be soul-less. Running against him is Coleen Rowley, who is just strange enough to be interesting. A former FBI agent, just four years ago, she was plastered all over the front cover of Time Magazine for blowing the whistle on the federal government's ignorance of reports from Minnesota FBI officials that there was a suspicious person attending flight school in Eagan. Today, we all know that suspicious person as Zacharious Moussaoui, the supposed 20th hijacker, who's actually a lunatic. Even the terrorists thought so. So, Coleen Rowley, who, since she crossed the federal government, is no longer an FBI agent, is instead running for Congress as a Democrat, regardless of the fact that she's never been a Democrat before, admittedly voting pretty much straight ticket Republican until very recently - yes, even for her soul-less opponent.
After all that drama, let's get back to the guber's race. If Becky Lourey doesn't win the DFL nomination for governor, as is likely, then I've decided to throw my weight behind Peter Hutchinson, the candidate for the Independence Party of Minnesota. His team, dubbed Team Minnesota, are running together as a unit for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, State Auditor, and Attorney General. Even though you don't vote on them as a ticket, like you would a national President/Vice President ticket, they're still running together as a team. An interesting idea, I suppose. I like the Independence Party; they have good ideas, and I think are somewhat successful as a third party in Minnesota because they represent, as Peter Hutchinson would call it, the Radical Center rather than the radical lefts and rights you find in so many third parties nationwide.
In one last shout-out to a candidate I can't vote for, I also support
Patty Wetterling for Congress in the 6th district. Any Minnesotans out there reading this will recognize her as the celebrated child safety activist from St. Joseph whose 11-year-old son Jacob was abducted at gunpoint in 1989 and has never been found. She's pretty much a household name up here, but seems to be pretty much unknown outside the state. Still, I believe she's an excellent candidate. She's running against a state senator from Stillwater who is most certainly soul-less. The Republican contender wrote our state's constitutional marriage amendment as well as our conceal and carry law, and she herself holds a conceal and carry permit. In other words, she has a gun and might decide to use it on you if you happen to look suspicious in a public place. I'm beginning to think she's in league with Satan. Unfortunately, I have not the geographic standing to vote against her.
So, there's where I stand. Agree or disagree. Minnesota Public Radio has put together "Select A Candidate" quizzes for most of the races I've highlighted at their website. Click on the graphic at right. And if you were wondering, my computer is in the shop and Toshiba is refusing to cover the $150 repair, so I'm mostly AWOL at the moment. Hoping I'll be back online soon.
Anyway, the question was "What ever happened to the Independant [sic] ticket you were exploring? Wasn't it a Minnisota [sic] Independant something or other?" The answer is yes, it was, and it is right here.
The links at right are necessarily accompanied by a little explanation, as I appear upon viewing to be supporting two candidates for most races. (I'm a big fan of instant run-off voting; this is perhaps evident of such.) In reality, it's actually all in the timing. The Minnesota DFL primary isn't until September 12, at which point I will be voting for Becky Lourey, the candidate who was NOT endorsed by the DFL. It is thus unlikely that she will win, but she is nevertheless defying the establishment and refusing to remove her name from the race, which I think is excellent because she has much better public policy than her opponent.
For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about when I say DFL, you will be interested to learn that Minnesota is the only state in the union that does not have a Democratic party. Instead, we have the DFL, which stands for Democratic Farmer-Labor Party, and is the last holdover from the Populist parties of the early twentieth century. Minnesota elected 3 Farmer-Labor governors in the 1930's and 4 Farmer-Labor U.S. Senators between 1923 and 1941. The Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party merged with the Minnesota Democratic Party in 1944. They are today the de facto Democrats; national DFL office-holders caucus with the Democrats.
As far as the Senate race goes, even though I am more in agreement with Independence Party candidate Robert Fitzgerald, I'm supportive of
Amy Klobuchar for U.S. Senate because she's actually likely to win; the last Strib poll showed her with a massive lead over the Republican in the race, whereas nobody knows who Robert Fitzgerald is.
Moving on to the House race, we have a very strong Republican incumbent with whom I have concerns, the most important being that he seems to be soul-less. Running against him is Coleen Rowley, who is just strange enough to be interesting. A former FBI agent, just four years ago, she was plastered all over the front cover of Time Magazine for blowing the whistle on the federal government's ignorance of reports from Minnesota FBI officials that there was a suspicious person attending flight school in Eagan. Today, we all know that suspicious person as Zacharious Moussaoui, the supposed 20th hijacker, who's actually a lunatic. Even the terrorists thought so. So, Coleen Rowley, who, since she crossed the federal government, is no longer an FBI agent, is instead running for Congress as a Democrat, regardless of the fact that she's never been a Democrat before, admittedly voting pretty much straight ticket Republican until very recently - yes, even for her soul-less opponent.
After all that drama, let's get back to the guber's race. If Becky Lourey doesn't win the DFL nomination for governor, as is likely, then I've decided to throw my weight behind Peter Hutchinson, the candidate for the Independence Party of Minnesota. His team, dubbed Team Minnesota, are running together as a unit for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, State Auditor, and Attorney General. Even though you don't vote on them as a ticket, like you would a national President/Vice President ticket, they're still running together as a team. An interesting idea, I suppose. I like the Independence Party; they have good ideas, and I think are somewhat successful as a third party in Minnesota because they represent, as Peter Hutchinson would call it, the Radical Center rather than the radical lefts and rights you find in so many third parties nationwide.
In one last shout-out to a candidate I can't vote for, I also support
Patty Wetterling for Congress in the 6th district. Any Minnesotans out there reading this will recognize her as the celebrated child safety activist from St. Joseph whose 11-year-old son Jacob was abducted at gunpoint in 1989 and has never been found. She's pretty much a household name up here, but seems to be pretty much unknown outside the state. Still, I believe she's an excellent candidate. She's running against a state senator from Stillwater who is most certainly soul-less. The Republican contender wrote our state's constitutional marriage amendment as well as our conceal and carry law, and she herself holds a conceal and carry permit. In other words, she has a gun and might decide to use it on you if you happen to look suspicious in a public place. I'm beginning to think she's in league with Satan. Unfortunately, I have not the geographic standing to vote against her.
So, there's where I stand. Agree or disagree. Minnesota Public Radio has put together "Select A Candidate" quizzes for most of the races I've highlighted at their website. Click on the graphic at right. And if you were wondering, my computer is in the shop and Toshiba is refusing to cover the $150 repair, so I'm mostly AWOL at the moment. Hoping I'll be back online soon.
posted by stoerzie at
11:31 AM
