Minnesota breeds good politicians

There’s a reason why Minnesota has advanced so many presidential candidates over the years.

Some, like Eugene McCarthy and Harold Stassen, ran so often they lost credibility.

Others, like Tim Pawlenty and Michelle Bachman never really had a chance, although Tim Pawlenty might have been a decent president.

And two others actually came pretty close to the presidency: Hubert Humphrey in 1968 (he lost by less than 1 percent of the popular vote) and Walter Mondale (well, 59 percent to 41 percent isn’t all that close, but he was on the ticket).

It remains to be seen where the latest candidate, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, will land.

The reason Minnesota has been well-represented on the national stage is its clean, honest politics. We don’t tolerate indiscretions from either end of the political spectrum. We have fair taxation, good schools, a decent work ethic, and sound environmental policy.

Now, many of you may disagree, but you’re wrong. Minnesota does just about everything right, politically. For example, look at how we elect judges. We’ve seen other states appoint all their judges, which leads to cronyism. We’ve seen other states elect all their judges, which leads to the over-politicization of judicial elections. So we invented a hybrid system, where judges resign voluntarily, midterm, and the governor appoints a judge, who then stands for re-election every four years. It’s a good, moderate system.

Let’s examine Sen. Klobuchar a little. She’s a born-and-raised Minnesotan, and went to the East Coast for college and Chicago for law school. But she had the good sense to come back. She worked at a law firm (trust me — nothing prepares you for hard work and politics like the first three years as an associate at a prominent law firm) before she traded her name for a seat as county attorney. Although some believe she won that seat on her name alone, she proved herself and built a reputation as a hard worker, was fair to all, and became a quality government servant. After an appropriate time in that job, she ran for the Senate and won.

As a senator, she takes on popular issues and handles them with grace.

She has a good grasp on public policy.

Some wish she were more liberal: they wish she would take a tougher stand on the environment, for example, or health care. As a left-wing extremist, she is disappointing.

Some wish she wasn’t so liberal. They wish she would take a more conservative stand on issues such as the right to life, or gun rights. As a right-winger, she’s inadequate.

But 60 percent of us like her just as she is, smack dab in the middle. That is not surprising; by definition, most of us are in the middle. It’s about time we start looking at the effectiveness of our leaders rather than the extreme issues they propose.

The worst the political trolls can come up with against her is that she’s a tough boss. Oh, no! How surprising that one of the most powerful people in the United States may be demanding of her staff! Actually, her intensity and high standards would be a refreshing change. Wouldn’t you rather have a president who really does want the best and the brightest running things? I do.

The 2020 campaigns have barely started, and there are lots of candidates from all sides who are giving it a shot. Whether our senator can raise enough interest on the national stage is anyone’s guess, but I, for one, wouldn’t mind seeing a Minnesotan in the White House.

Pete Radosevich is the publisher of the Pine Knot News community newspaper and an attorney in Esko who hosts the talk show Harry’s Gang on CAT-7. He can be reached at [email protected].