Locally Grown

8 Comments

1. BruceWMorlan
   Posted October 31, 2008 at 12:06 pm | Permalink

   One of the recent mailings I received from the Bly campaign (via the Minnesota DFL State Committee) promises that “He’s working for Rice and Scott Counties to get our fair share.” Our fair share? Our fair share! This short-sighted, what’s in it for me attitude toward government money is the ruin of democracies. Neither party is doing its job well right now (consider the bailout), but this egregious and blatant attempt to buy votes stands out in this economy like a warning buoy in a channel. It says, “this is the wrong way, do not go this way.“ And I will not go that way.

2. Patrick Enders
   Posted October 31, 2008 at 12:29 pm | Permalink

   Unfortunately, I think John George’s recent definition of politics is in play with this appeal:

   I thought politics was “back scratching”. The opposite would be called governance.

3. Stephanie Henriksen
   Posted October 31, 2008 at 2:28 pm | Permalink

   David Bly definitely has my vote. If there is something objectionable in the flurry of mailings not approved by the candidates themselves, as in this case, I don’t have to time to spend on it.

   With Rep. Cox in the House, I was always on a pin trying to get him up to speed on this or that, hoping he would not knuckle under to his caucus yet again.

   Bly is a Farmers Union member, he is up to speed. I got a much needed rest from the stress. Bly was a major mover of the Minnesota Health Act, along with Sen. John Marty and others. It did not pass, but the work on it will continue.

4. john george
   Posted October 31, 2008 at 3:20 pm | Permalink

   Stephanie- I suppose that if a person is a Democrat, they will have less stress if a Democrat is in office. Same for a Republican. The idea that we can elect a person on a particular party platform and then have them vote in such a way as to please everyone in the district is, IMHO, a little unrealistic. Wasn’t it Mark Twain that said you can please part of the people all the time and all the people part of the time, but you can never please ALL the people ALL the time? Or was that “fool them”? Either way, whomever it was, I think it is a correct evaluation. I would be as surprised if a Democrat would begin voting like a Republican as I would a Republican voting like a Democrat once they got into office.

   Patrick- Thanks for the notation.

5. Robert Hardy
   Posted October 31, 2008 at 3:32 pm | Permalink

   John G.,
   Mark Twain was a Mugwump: a Republican who supported Democrat Grover Cleveland. I know we’ve had Reagan Democrats and perhaps, now, Obama Republicans. But what America sadly seems to have lost are the colorful names like “Mugwump.”

6. David Ludescher
   Posted October 31, 2008 at 6:14 pm | Permalink

   Bruce: An excellent observation. Presently, the government is being controlled by two large, and very powerful special interest groups - the Democrats and the Republicans. One makes their politics their religion; the other makes their religion their politics. Either path heads to ruin.

7. john george
   Posted October 31, 2008 at 10:39 pm | Permalink

   Robert H.- Oh, the creativity that is squelched by political correctness! MUST….CONTROL….URGE….!

8. kiffi summa
   Posted November 2, 2008 at 5:15 am | Permalink

   Rob: re: your post #5 … I think Curt Benson should be hired to create names for political parties/movements; some time ago he called some citizens “malevolent pokenoses”… actually a very ‘Swiftian’ turn of phrase for which I complemented him .
   Curt: Am I remembering correctly that it was applied by you to Roder critics? Well, ‘whatevs’ … it was a truly visual naming … and that’s generous … because I think Curt was talking about a group in which I would be included .