Vicky writes: > "Simply put: Minneapolis is now walking firmly in the direction of financial > failure of the sort that has haunted cities all over the rest of the country > for decades. Real failure. "Bust the bank" failure. The kind of failure that > could affect the financial reputation of the entire state." > > The entire article by Fritz Knaak, former state senator and attorney: > http://www.startribune.com/stories/562/5161890.html
Knaak's piece was pretty funny. My favorite part was this: "When [Norm] Coleman was squeezed into the Republican Party by his fellow Democrats, it not only didn't diminish his effectiveness -- it added pressure. Suddenly, into the reservations I and others had about subsidizing hockey in St. Paul came pressure from a Republican governor's office to help a Republican mayor with a key project. I resented it, but I supported it." In other words, Minneapolis should elect Republicans so they can hornswaggle taxpayers' dough for things like a now-dark hockey stadium (never mind that they won't raised the basic per-pupil aid for education). Talk about misplaced priorities. Talk about fiscally irresponsible. The rest of the article is as well-reasoned and rational. (Knaak repeated lauds St. Paul, because of their former GOP mayor and their current quasi-GOP one. Again, I say, look at the economic fundamentals, including downtown vitality/vacancy rates and the percentage of higher income people moving in from the burbs, and it's hard to argue it's the superior model.) This is a textbook example of how out-of-touch statewide Republicans are with Minneapolis. (I have lots more respect for the local folks I've met such as David Dayhoff and Carleton Crawford). If Republicans want to make more of an effort in Minneapolis, I welcome them. They need to abandon their If they don't, they'll not only stay shut out here, but they'll continue the trend of 2004 legislative election in which they almost lost a 28-seat legislative majority. Knaak's piece proves there's plenty of hubris in both dominant parties. Knaak never makes the case about the bank being busted expect as rhetoric. The tendentious flamethrowers are entertaining, but not nearly as astute as we need as citizens. David Brauer Kingfield 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
