Brauer writes:
> > 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.
>
Knaak is correct that Republicans can't afford to
continue their current attitude towards Minneapolis.
Since the Minneapolis delegation didn't have serious
competition, it meant that their volunteers helped
defeat a number of suburban Republicans. Part of the
reason people were energized to do so, was the
selective hostility towards Minneapolis Public
Schools, and the opposition of the Governor and House
Republicans to all Minneapolis bonding projects except
for the Colin Powell Center (a Faith Based Pork
project). What was a good reason to oppose the
Planetarium?
>
> 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.
>
It will be interesting to see what the Republicans
focus on, when they meet this spring. With Michele
Bachmann's and Warren Limmer's ascension to assistant
majority leader, I'd expect more Creationism, fetal
death certificate bills and amendments to ban gay
marriage in the Senate.
It would be nice if moderate thoughtful legislators
like Rep Ray Cox, Ron Abrams (who lost the Tax
Chairmanship to Phil Krinkie) and Ron Erhardt would
get more coverage. Unfortunately, the press tends to
like to cover freak shows.
=====
Eva Young
Near North
Minneapolis
Blogs:
http://lloydletta.blogspot.com
http://www.outletradio.com
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
