I too had a positive experience with Carleton during the active life of the Redistricting Commission. He was one of the faithful few that followed the work of the Commission from start to finish. Mind you, we commissioners got along pretty well, considering the stakes at hand - the DFL/Independence majority on the commission eventually had its way with the rest of us and we are still in the litigative aftermath of that encounter almost halfway through the decade. It helped considerably to know of Carleton's presence representing the IR's interest because he was and is an example of the gentility of the Wisconsin Republicans that gave me my start in politics during the Kennedy years. Republicans that correctly took umbrage at the fanaticism currently steering our ship of state toward certain disaster.
Absolute power is corrosive. It's better to negotiate differences in a respectful way - with due deference to political realities - and Carleton was and is very easy to live with. Contrast this if you will with the harsh experience our Minneapolis representatives are currently having in the Minnesota Legislature. I will never believe that the adversarial system is the be all and end all of politics because people like Carleton Crawford still make the effort to be civil and respectful when disagreements are intractable. That's the kind of leadership I can honestly celebrate. Fred Markus, West Phillips REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
