rjzeller

Once again, Minnesotans reward the ONE politician in the state who had the courage to stand up for what he believed in and support what he felt was right, not what he felt was popular, and the drooling masses here in Minnesota (well...St. Paul, anyway) reward that integrity by voting him out of office by an overwhelming majority.

The deal was this: Last year Democratic Mayor Randy Kelly stepped outside the norm and endorsed President Bush because he supported Bush's war on terror. St. Paul, a highly democratic city, has never forgotten that endorsement. Fellow democrat Chris Coleman took advantage of bad sentiment toward Kelly by running against him for mayor, and won convincingly. People polled afterward literally stated: "He was for Bush, I wasn't."

Good grief.

This is the same mentality people here in Rochester used to vote out EVERY SINGLE incumbant candidate during the last round of midterm elections. The state had a shutdown and voters decided to make the legislature pay (I wonder how many people who were so *ANGRY* over the shutdown actually suffered AT ALL as a result of it). They voted out every incumbant in the area. We actuall sent a young man to the state house who had NO experience at all simply becuase voters wanted to punish the incumbant.

Now don't get me wrong...I think using the vote is an important tool for keeping politicians in check. But people use the vote in this state without EVER looking at the issues. They vote based on emotion, and that is all.

Even Democrats aren't safe (MN hasn't voted Republican in a general election since Nixon, if I remember correctly), if they dare to say somethign promising about a Republican. Kelly had a solid record as mayor, but he made the mistake of showing the courage to endorse the most hated man in America. And Minnesotans proved once again that politics is no place for people of integrity.

Welcome to Little California.....

Mikey

"But WWWD"?

(What would Wellstone do?)

brian moon

In my house the most hated man in America is ANYONE with (D) after their name.

Lazorphaze

um.....I think kelly deserved to get kicked out.
Maybe because I'm a big Bush-hater, but that's just my stance..

rjzeller

Well LP, if memory serves correct you're still in High School -- public, most likely -- a haven of liberalism and nuturing site of democrat and liberal ideologies. That's not to say you are, but I've worked in all aspects of one of the local districts, and I can attest that not only are over 90 percent of the teachers liberal, but they also push their ideals on their students heavily.

So you hating Bush comes as little suprise. But that only supports my point -- people were voting against Kelly simply because they hate Bush, NOT because of any policy failure or corruption on Kelly's behalf. I'd admonish you to ignore personal prejudices when you are old enough to vote and instead look into the issues and records of those for whom you're voting (and their opponents). Otherwise you end up finding yourself living in a society vastly different from the one you thought you would grow up in.

silverstar

You get a hug. That was beautiful!

Thank you.

Lara

rjzeller

Why, thank you Lara! Unfortunately (or maybe, fortunately depending on whom you ask), I'm not much of a hugging type.

...but I'd gladly accept that horn of yours in lieu of a hug!

Lazorphaze

lara. are you a republican and/or bush supporter?
rjzeller,
I'm saying that what Kelly did was wrong. switching parties in office is a bad move. and yes i'm in high school.
edit- it seems funny that most of the kids in the process of getting EDUCATED are liberals. funny how that works....

silverstar

LP, I've said it once and I will say it again....

I am a Republican, so long as the party stands for what I believe in. If tomorrow the Republicans decided to do a 180 and completely change what the party is about, I would no longer be a Republican.....so...yes, in a way. I have my beliefs and convictions, and then I do my research and figure out who I will support/vote for (when the time comes) based on who I want to represent me. I don't just go out and say, "I'm a *fill in political party name* because I am!". I base my decisions on fact and research, not what looks good or is popular with my friends.. That being said....
I support our President. If I could have voted in the last election, I would have voted for President Bush. He is a man of character, conviction, truth, honor, morals....everything I would look for in a leader of a country. He believes in what I believe in, and stands up to his word. He is very direct and to the point when he says he's going to do something.

So....in short, yes I am.

On another note, just because you are going to school to be EDUCATED doesn't mean that everything they teach you is correct and/or right. School gives you the building blocks for you to make decisions and choices based in fact and logic...any opinion/belief someone has should not be brought up in a classroom, unless it's meant for discussion and debate and isnt' being taught as truth. Just because an opinion came from an adult doesn't make it the God's honest truth.

Ok...I'm done ranting....wow...

Lara

rjzeller

LP....

Doesn't matter what Lara is, and it shouldn't matter what Kelly is. But let me correct you on a point -- Kelly did not switch parties. He was and still is a Democrat. What he did was endorse Bush for president. We're not talking about a Jim Jeffords here. Kelly simply did what he felt was best for his COUNTRY, not his career. Unprecidented? Maybe. But then again, Norm Coleman DID switch parties while in office and it didn't seem to hurt him at all. Once more the educational establishment shines in the political spectrum.

And I don't find it funny that kids in the process of "getting EDUCATED" are liberals. I've already explained how that works and why, and it's not funny. Teachers don't teach critical thinking in high school (something Lara, at least, has demonstrated frequently on these boards), instead they teach an ideology. If you think about how pays their salaries, and who supports the unions that they benefit from and pay their dues to, it really should be no suprise.

And yet, despite countless years of hearing the same political spin for their entire formative years, 50% of the population still grow up to support conservatism and Republicans. Even after attending predominately liberal universities, where the political rhetoric grows even stronger, people become increasingly conservative as they mature. THAT, I should think, you would find interesting as well...

What Kelly did was think independently -- no partisanship -- something we all claim to respect. And yet, every single time someone goes against the party line, they're made to pay dearly for it.

This is why even the most sensible sounding persons fall sway to the establishment once they get in office. It is abundantly clear that in politics, especially in Minnesota and Washington, courage equals defeat.

St. Paul gets what they deserve. Hopefully this Coleman will turn out to be as good as the last Coleman was, but I have to wonder.