tag:minnesota.publicradio.org,2008:/collections/special/columns/special/2006/undecided//61 2006-11-15T02:21:35Z As part of our Public Insight Journalism initiative, Minnesota Public Radio selected a group of swing voters to share their thoughts on this election season. These swing voters keep up with politics and have all voted across party lines in the last several elections. Movable Type Open Source 4.1 tag:minnesota.publicradio.org,2006:/collections/special/columns/special/2006/undecided//61.8556 2006-11-15T02:18:54Z 2006-11-15T02:21:35Z

Do you remember the “Thelma & Louise?” At the end of the movie they are sitting, stopped in their convertible which is pointing toward a great precipice. They are surrounded by the gendarmes ready to arrest them for murder and...

Jim Stattmiller http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/special/2006/undecided/ Do you remember the “Thelma & Louise?” At the end of the movie they are sitting, stopped in their convertible which is pointing toward a great precipice. They are surrounded by the gendarmes ready to arrest them for murder and robbery. Thelma turns to Louise and says, “Go.” Louise knows there is no way out of this mess. She says, “What are you takin’ about?” Thelma answers, “Go.” They exchange a knowing glance. Louise floors it. We see the car fly off the cliff into a slow motion dive into the abyss hundreds of feet below. Thus we arrive at where we find the United States now—hurling head long into the unfathomable chasm of Iraq. After the election my Republican friends are saying sardonically to the Democrats, “O.K., you drive. But you better not crash.” There are no viable options in Iraq, in my opinion. McCain wants to add 100,000 more troops. That won’t begin to turn things around in Iraq. After the Tet offensive there were more than 550,000 soldiers in Vietnam. We got our butt kicked anyway. Joe Bidden wants to divide Iraq into Kurd, Sunni, and Shiite sections. This is what is now underway anyway. But it results in a destroyed Iraq. Carl Levin wants a pretty quick pull out which will result in even more death and civil war. George Bush wants to stay until victory is achieved, but that won’t happen, in my view, regardless of what plan is now being considered and certainly will result in many more deaths, destruction and continuation of a failed policy and an unnecessary war. Maybe Louise should have thought twice about shooting that guy in the parking lot? tag:minnesota.publicradio.org,2006:/collections/special/columns/special/2006/undecided//61.8517 2006-11-11T19:58:25Z 2006-11-11T20:11:32Z

The war to end all wars ended today in 1918. Forty million casualties resulted. “The philosopher Bertrand Russell said, ‘All this madness, all this rage, all this flaming death of our civilization and our hopes, has been brought about because...

Jim Stattmiller http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/special/2006/undecided/ The war to end all wars ended today in 1918. Forty million casualties resulted. “The philosopher Bertrand Russell said, ‘All this madness, all this rage, all this flaming death of our civilization and our hopes, has been brought about because a set of official gentlemen, living luxurious lives, mostly stupid, and all without imagination or heart, have chosen that it should occur rather than that any one of them should suffer some infinitesimal rebuff to his country's pride.”(MPR,”Writers Almanac” for today) World War I lasted four years. The war in Iraq will have lasted four years in March. There have been, by one estimate, over 650,000 deaths so far, a rate more than double the 2,000,000 estimated deaths attributed to Saddam Hussein between 1979 and 2003. President Bush says that we need to fight the terrorists over there rather than at home. How do we keep them over there? A wall? TSA? Is it like putting a dead rat on the highway and all the flies will be attracted to it, and the rest of the world will be fly free? How did the 1600 suspected terrorists in 200 cells that the British are tracking get to the British Isle? Weren’t the British fighting them over there also? Does the war only protect the US from terrorists coming here? Or are Bush and Cheney”… living luxurious lives, mostly stupid, and all without imagination or heart…”? tag:minnesota.publicradio.org,2006:/collections/special/columns/special/2006/undecided//61.8507 2006-11-10T16:42:00Z 2006-11-10T16:51:30Z

The election was emotionally exhausting. Yesterday I was in a daze. Up too late Tuesday night. I had not realized the psychic energy I had invested in the election. The MPR election party was interesting and it was fun being...

Jim Stattmiller http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/special/2006/undecided/ The election was emotionally exhausting. Yesterday I was in a daze. Up too late Tuesday night. I had not realized the psychic energy I had invested in the election. The MPR election party was interesting and it was fun being able to share it with my wife and son and his girl friend. But I was anxious. I wanted to follow the national election, hear the pundits, keep tabs on the national scene. The big 12 ft. screen alternating between CNN and the MPR computer had no sound. The only electronic sound was the live show in front of us being broadcast on 89.3, The Current. The food and drink held out till after we left around 10:30 P.M. It was supposed to be nonpartisan, but applause broke out when the Democrats captured its 15th seat and control of the house.. I would have loved to have bumped into all my fellow bloggers. It was pretty much a given that the House would change, but I was almost shocked when I awoke yesterday. The phone rang and my sister in law said the Democrats had picked up four senate seats and two were still in play. Later Montana fell to the opposition party and that left only George (Macaca) Allen left, trailing by 6,000 votes to Democrat James Webb. Later today Allen conceded thereby sparing the country a lengthy two or three weeks recount and an expensive bill on his part. The poetry, the irony in all this is that the tipping point of power in America indeed the world hinged on an off handed comment Allen made in August, "Macaca" said to 20 year old S.R. Siddharth a South Asian-American whom he saw as different because of his dark skin. There are more than 75,000 Desi in Virginia. They are from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. George Allen was a darling of the Religious Right who was preparing to run for president in 2008 in the party of family values, the party of higher-than-thou morals. In front of a rally of supporters and TV cameras, Allen's long history of racial bigotry was glimpsed and magnified like Kerry's joke about being stuck in Iraq. Only this time the Republican got caught, drawn-and-quartered. tag:minnesota.publicradio.org,2006:/collections/special/columns/special/2006/undecided//61.8485 2006-11-08T19:33:07Z 2006-11-08T19:58:10Z

I would like to say thank you to MPR and The Current for hosting a great party last night. I attended the party, but could not find any of my fellow bloggers. I was looking for Sandy and Jim, as...

Patty Bruce http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/special/2006/undecided/ I would like to say thank you to MPR and The Current for hosting a great party last night. I attended the party, but could not find any of my fellow bloggers. I was looking for Sandy and Jim, as I would have liked to have met him and his family. The party and the atmosphere were impressive. I left earlier than I had intended because I was distracted and deeply concerned about one race in particular...for very personal reasons...but it turned out well in the end! Though I am disappointed about the results from the governor's race, it seems that the results from last night's election, overall, seem to have made a difference already. I think the voters have spoken and our elected leaders, at both the state and national levels, have discovered that we have effectively put them in check. I was very surprised (yet, very pleased) at the unexpected resignation of Rumsfeld. tag:minnesota.publicradio.org,2006:/collections/special/columns/special/2006/undecided//61.8483 2006-11-08T16:47:59Z 2006-11-08T19:51:17Z

Some very interesting results today as I wake up, hours after turning off the TV to having no governor, I find that we have the same one. Pawlenty took a lead late last night and held onto it very slimly....

Ken Lee http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/special/2006/undecided/ Some very interesting results today as I wake up, hours after turning off the TV to having no governor, I find that we have the same one. Pawlenty took a lead late last night and held onto it very slimly. I was hoping maybe Hutchinson could have rallied some form of support, but I would rather have Pawlenty than Hatch. No surprise that Patty Wetterling was tossed to the curb for using her son's tragedy as a campaign, and nothing else. The most interesting point of the night was that Pawlenty picked up so much of the vote and a large number of people crossed over their ballot to vote out other state officers. This either shows that Pawlenty is supported by a number of Democrats, or that Republicans were fed up with everyone but Pawlenty. Much more likely to be the former rather than the latter. On a side note the party last night was quite interesting. I met a fellow blogger I worked with a few years ago, he was a live blogger there. I also got to meet Jim and his wife. Now folks, I can't tell you too much about Jim because he hardly said a thing to me, but Mrs. Stattmiller is quite proud of her children and very emotional about the blog, it appears. I was looking around for any of the other bloggers last night but I didn't see anyone. Kudos to you all for a well brought together blog and another election year. tag:minnesota.publicradio.org,2006:/collections/special/columns/special/2006/undecided//61.8478 2006-11-08T05:16:21Z 2006-11-08T19:54:17Z

I just heard the new Speaker of the House of Representatives who is a woman (Nancy Pelosi). I am frankly excited. She says that she promises to create an atomosphere of bipartisanship. I'm for it! I'm also revved up by...

Sandy Peatrowsky http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/special/2006/undecided/ this time, this group of people will do it right, or at least better. ]]> tag:minnesota.publicradio.org,2006:/collections/special/columns/special/2006/undecided//61.8477 2006-11-08T04:00:44Z 2006-11-08T19:57:27Z

Somewhere there is a ray of hope, as of current Minnesota is rejecting the MVST amendment but barely. Patty Wetterling is being punished for breaking her "No new campaigns" promise. Pawlenty is being taught a hard lesson of running as...

Ken Lee http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/special/2006/undecided/ Somewhere there is a ray of hope, as of current Minnesota is rejecting the MVST amendment but barely. Patty Wetterling is being punished for breaking her "No new campaigns" promise. Pawlenty is being taught a hard lesson of running as a Republican and governing as a Democrat. Surprising to me, though, is that the baby is being thrown out with the bath water. Good candidates for other state offices are being rejected, and amazingly so. Jeff Johnson needs to replace Mr. Hatch and yet we have someone of poor qualifications winning. I can't say that I am shocked that Keith Ellison is winning, I spent many years in the district and the people there are too stupid to be bothered with basic research on their candidates. At least Tammy Lee was semi-acceptable candidate. The surprise (or hardly that because I expected it) is that Amy Klobuchar, with 20 percent of the vote in, is called the winner. Assuming Minnesota's historical trends for voting, there is still a good million votes to be counted, yet she is being hailed as the winner. Again Republicans typically bring up in large numbers when outstate Minnesota is counted, and as of yet we are still told she is the winner. I think it is a little premature to be putting your drapes in yet Amy. Aside from that, my previous prediction of Republicans holding control in the House and Senate still appears to be holding true. I am very glad that a lot of people like Chafee and Santorum. Now if only the same could be done in Arizona... I think, if the blog is still up tomorrow morning I will post a post-election wrap up and we will see everything as the dust settles, and maybe a final thought. Until then, good night. tag:minnesota.publicradio.org,2006:/collections/special/columns/special/2006/undecided//61.8476 2006-11-08T03:13:22Z 2006-11-08T19:55:20Z

As the night progresses I will surely vent right here for all to see. I am live at MPR talking to everyone and even Jim, although not on quite as heatedly as we have here. A few views for the...

Ken Lee http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/special/2006/undecided/ As the night progresses I will surely vent right here for all to see. I am live at MPR talking to everyone and even Jim, although not on quite as heatedly as we have here. A few views for the night... As I predicted, Joe Lieberman is winning his race, and it is a shame for the Democratic Party. Jim Ramstad is winning, which is a non-surpise to say the least. Hutchinson is losing, much like the Independence Party did last go around for the governorship. Amy Klobuchar won the metro, now let's see how she fares in outstate Minnesota. Huzzah! tag:minnesota.publicradio.org,2006:/collections/special/columns/special/2006/undecided//61.8472 2006-11-07T23:11:25Z 2006-11-08T01:30:12Z

I mentioned previously that I was going to write in for a school board member. Now I kept forgetting his name, then couldn't remember how to spell it (we can go into my memory problems in another blog, okay?). Finally...

Sandy Peatrowsky http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/special/2006/undecided/ changed my mind on a couple of people! Who knew that would happen? I admit that I was wobbly on a couple of people, but the second time around, I felt more sassy and argumentative. How close a couple of people came on my vote! I think it's time find a better way to write in candidates. If they had enough time to make yard signs, I think there could have been some sort of sheet that could give me the place and spelling of his name. Just a thought. ]]> tag:minnesota.publicradio.org,2006:/collections/special/columns/special/2006/undecided//61.8459 2006-11-07T17:14:51Z 2006-11-07T17:31:07Z

Today, the Democratic Party faces a tough challenge. They have to choose between a candidate who is against the war in Iraq, and the candidate who is. Joe Lieberman is the "reject" of his party (their words, not mine folks)...

Ken Lee http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/special/2006/undecided/ Today, the Democratic Party faces a tough challenge. They have to choose between a candidate who is against the war in Iraq, and the candidate who is. Joe Lieberman is the "reject" of his party (their words, not mine folks) and is running as an independent against Ned Lamont, who is the party-approved candidate. So why is this a tough choice? Well, if the elected official is Ned Lamont, it means they have the right message and have spent four years trying to express it and failing; the more likely option is that the U.S. public is for the war and supports it, despite the Democratic message. If you go line by line, the two candidates are almost cloned except this one issue, thus the people are choosing between the war and not. What happens when Joe wins? The Democrats are holding onto an issue that their base can rally around simply because it is ABB (anyone but Bush), but as shown in the previous election people prefer Bush to the "anyone" candidate. So here we are, with Joe Lieberman massively leading the polls, what does this mean to the Democratic Party...What does it mean to those of you who don't support the war? tag:minnesota.publicradio.org,2006:/collections/special/columns/special/2006/undecided//61.8458 2006-11-07T16:49:29Z 2006-11-07T17:24:28Z

What are some core Republican beliefs? Three strong beliefs could be a desire to have less government, to be financially responsible as well as frugal with government spending, and a strong stance on keeping government out of one's personal life....

David Duvall http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/special/2006/undecided/ What are some core Republican beliefs? Three strong beliefs could be a desire to have less government, to be financially responsible as well as frugal with government spending, and a strong stance on keeping government out of one's personal life. These are what I believe to be classic conservative motivations for a proud Republican stamp. Unfortunately under the Bush administration, government has grown in size. With the price of the war our deficit grows daily, and with the president endorsing govenment involvement in what I view to be personal issues like Terry Schiavo I wonder if we should change the stamp. I am I the only person who sees these strong differences? tag:minnesota.publicradio.org,2006:/collections/special/columns/special/2006/undecided//61.8455 2006-11-07T16:31:32Z 2006-11-07T17:23:09Z

Readers, I called Michele Bachman's campaign headquarters. I was told I should write and send my questions as they could not answer them on the phone. I wrote five questions to the Michele Bachman campaign. I received no answer. Below...

David Duvall http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/special/2006/undecided/ Readers, I called Michele Bachman's campaign headquarters. I was told I should write and send my questions as they could not answer them on the phone. I wrote five questions to the Michele Bachman campaign. I received no answer. Below you will find the questions. 1.) Given the current situation of war in Iraq, when does Ms. Bachman believe we should expect our troops to come home from the war? 2.) What is Ms. Bachmann's plan to reduce the deficit? What areas does she see additional revenue raised? 3.) What does Ms. Bachmann consider to be success for the average American citizen? 4.) In what ways does Ms. Bachmann plan to combat the rising gas prices and our current dependence on foreign oil? 5.) Does Ms. Bachmann believe that creationism should be a subject taught in the American public school system? If so, under what subject should this be taught? tag:minnesota.publicradio.org,2006:/collections/special/columns/special/2006/undecided//61.8449 2006-11-07T11:44:52Z 2006-11-07T17:21:10Z

As the masses of people are waking up today, they go off to vote. I admit that even I waited until about 20 minutes ago to actually look through all the candidates on my ballot -- to even the soil...

Ken Lee http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/special/2006/undecided/ Don't vote. I seriously believe that if you have not taken the time or due diligence to at least know who you are voting for and why, you belong nowhere near a voting booth. If you can take the time to visit a blog, you can take the time to figure out who every person on your ballot is. If you can't be bothered to find out who they are, why are you being bothered to drive somewhere to cast a vote that you don't care about? Yes, people bemoan that half of America doesn't vote, and I fail to see why. An uninformed vote is no better than a non-vote, in fact it may harm more in most cases. For example, many people vote straight party line simply because they believe that a particular party best represents their views. This is why we have people like John McCain and Joe Lieberman. Joe Lieberman was cast out of his party for not falling in line on one issue (which I will blog about as he wins re-election tonight, and tonight folks, it's gonna be a flurry of blogging from me) while people like John McCain, who is a traitor to this country, is still allowed to be considered a Republican. If you vote simply because you can, you are intentionally trying to minimize your greatest civic duty. To those of you who did pick a candidate based on the issues and how you feel about them, kudos to you. I join you after your grueling decisions and may the best man win. Today, I, Ken Lee, blogger for The View from the Fence, endorse the following candidates: Governor: Peter Hutchinson U.S. Senator: Mark Kennedy Attorney General: Jeff Johnson MVST Constitutional Amendment: NO http://www.stopmvst.org/ I hope to see you all tonight as I will be live blogging and comments will be punched through as fast as I can, as I will be attending the Election Night Policy and a Pint event at MPR tonight. I also wanted to close that it has been an honor to serve on this blog and discuss the issues with many of you. Some of you have had the great pleasure of tickling my wit ever so slightly, while other have outright assailed me, and I hope everyone can have the great pleasure of discussion in a civil manner.]]> tag:minnesota.publicradio.org,2006:/collections/special/columns/special/2006/undecided//61.8447 2006-11-07T04:35:42Z 2006-11-07T17:18:34Z

When the pendulum swings too far, I change parties. When Clinton was in power I grew tired of the litmus tests on abortion, on affirmative action, on 15-year-olds with babies. I voted for Dole and then for Bush. My kids...

Jim Stattmiller http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/special/2006/undecided/ When the pendulum swings too far, I change parties. When Clinton was in power I grew tired of the litmus tests on abortion, on affirmative action, on 15-year-olds with babies. I voted for Dole and then for Bush. My kids won’t let me forget it. Now the pendulum has swung too far to the “wrong.” A preemptive war because of Bush/Cheney’s personal demons is more than a person should take. A national debt level around $9 trillion is unconscionable. The “compassionate conservative” is neither. So this year I am voting Democrat with a capital “D”. Straight ticket. I don’t care if it’s Dog Catcher, I am going all the way. I have never seen such incompetent, self-righteous, name-calling, mean-spirited people in my life as this Republican administration. Locally, likewise. Gov. Tim Pawlenty is a smooth-talking, charismatic, nice-guy type who is sneaky and sleazy. He is not mean-spirited, however; I’ll give him that. He knows better. There are three proposals on the agenda that Pawlenty proposes that I oppose: The property tax cap, the 70 percent to the classroom deal, and maybe he also supports the state auto license formula for mass transit and for transportation. (I hate to admit it, but both Ken and I are on the same wave length here on transportation, not necessarily for the same reasons.) I don’t like these proposals because they remove decision-making from the people whose job it is to make those decisions. The license thing was difficult to wrestle with for me because I favor more money for mass transit. But a constitutional amendment is for all time. Ten or 20 years from now, our needs in transportation will be different. The schools might be different. For example, schools may be required to take on mental health services, or the immigration situation could require more specialists or job placement services may be needed. Pawlenty is for gimmicks like no new taxes, but fees are OK. Hatch is a pit bull. I will probably get tired of him in four years, but he did a great job going after the prima donna management of nonprofits. Now if only someone will tackle those out-of-line CEO salaries. tag:minnesota.publicradio.org,2006:/collections/special/columns/special/2006/undecided//61.8430 2006-11-06T16:37:42Z 2006-11-06T21:23:41Z

I attended the debates last night courtesy of the Public Insight Journalism section of MPR and I wanted to thank those guys for the awesome spot they got me on the main floor. It is with great pleasure that I...

Ken Lee http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/special/2006/undecided/ I attended the debates last night courtesy of the Public Insight Journalism section of MPR and I wanted to thank those guys for the awesome spot they got me on the main floor. It is with great pleasure that I report to you all what I noticed. I'll suppose I will start with the debate format. I was absolutely appalled at the style in which it was conducted. Kerri Miller started off asking specific questions to candidates about their campaign, rather than any actual substantive questions. I found myself agreeing with Mr. Fitzgerald when he called her out that over a half hour into the "debate" there was not a single question of policy being debated. However I quickly found myself less and less likely to vote for Mr. Fitzgerald, for two reasons. The only set in stone policy I heard from him was the decriminalization of illicit drugs. Other than that his response to any other question was "The Independence Party doesn't take money from special interests, so we won't do it like those two do it." While a great two-second audio clip on the radio, Mr. Fitzgerald, I heard that same sentiment come out of your mouth every time you spoke, just another broken record. I think the Independence Party is confused and thinks that's the reason Jesse Ventura won, and it's not. Amy Klobuchar took the time to explicitly state she has never run a negative attack ad on Mark Kennedy, and when confronted by Kerri about her one with Tyesha Edwards' mother saying, "Mark Kennedy, you should be ashamed," she claimed that wasn't negative. She also claimed that the DFL, the DNC, and PACs have not run any ads on her behalf, which is also another lie. She also tried denying her ties to Emily's List, rather than promote that she is a pro-abortion candidate, she tried to hide that and deny that at the debates. Mark Kennedy didn't do much better himself. When confronted with the drug PACs that contributed to his campaign, he didn't try to defend their right to contribute -- he just attacked the other candidates. He did point out his contributions to Congress, and rightfully pointed out Amy's lack of conviction for violent offenders, that is, the fact that she let most off on plea bargains giving them severely reduced sentences in order to obtain an easy conviction. But like the other candidates, he never went deep into policy and focused mainly on attacking the other two. I liked the governor's debate much more. Especially for the fact that the moderator, Gary Eichten, was very quick to admonish those who applauded, cheered, or booed candidates when they made a statement. The thing I remember most, and the thing that pretty much eliminated any chance of me voting for him, was Mr. Hatch's claim that Tim Pawlenty raised Hennepin County property taxes for a Vikings stadium. Mr. Hatch also took to interrupting Mr. Pawlenty several times. However, I must note that he was in the same seat as Mr. Fitzgerald -- maybe the seat is cursed? Another glaring disqualification from his lips was his assertion that he would sign into law any bill brought to him as governor because "it is the will of the people," as if the people of the state had a true say and not just the elected politicians. Then, when asked if he would use his veto power he jumped at the opportunity to list things he would veto -- and then was challenged as to how he could veto a bill passed by the "will of the people" when he said he wouldn't veto a bill that was the "will of the people." What a shameful display of talking out of both sides of your mouth. And before anyone says "That's not what he said!" it is, I was there. For the most part I didn't listen to Pawlenty, because there is nothing he could say to get me to vote for him. The only thing that would make me vote for him would be for him to return private property rights in Hennepin County, repeal the ability of the Hennepin County board to establish a tax that is not the will of the people, and repeal his "fees," or as Peter Hutchinson was so apt to point out, "...the establishment of taxes, and that Mr. Governor is what they really are..." and pay me back for them, by tomorrow morning. Doesn't seem likely does it? Peter Hutchinson was the only reason I wanted to stay, in hopes that I could hear something substantive. If anyone reading was listening to the debate last night, and you heard Mr. Hutchinson talk about how he was opposed to the MVST Amendment, I was the lone person in the room clapping. He said a number of things that made sense, and he did talk about one of his now "8 G's", and that is green cards. He tried to drudge up support for one of the early versions of the DREAM Act, when the illegal immigrants were supposed to be on a path to citizenship, which Pawlenty supported but does not anymore because of the stripping of the provisions. As I told the Public Insight Journalism folks last night, going on the debates, I would have to say Mark Kennedy marginally took the show in the first act, and Hutchinson won by leaps and bounds in the second. I will still be deciding if I would vote for Hutchinson or possibly Leslie Davis of the American Party, or Walt Brown of the Quit Raising Taxes party. It almost seems like a hard choice. Although I still may write in Sue Jeffers.