For Governor of Minnesota...

Tom Horner of the Independence Party!

DFL: http://markdayton.org/mainsite/
Republican: http://www.emmerforgovernor.com/
Independence: http://www.horner2010.com/
Green: http://www.mngreens.org/
Libertarian: http://www.lpmn.org/
Socialist Worker: http://www.spminn.org/

As always kids, do your homework, be informed citizens and for real- make your own choices. I make these endorsements mainly be reading websites and deciding whom I think will do the most good- but that's not a reason you should take my word for ANYTHING...


I miss Minnesota sometimes. It's always good to be closer to family and I love my job and you can't beat fall in Iowa City, whether it's for high school or college football, the place is just damn spiffy to settle down, live and work in. But I do miss Minnesota. Believe it or not, Iowa has an independent streak in its political nature that is often hard to notice, despite people viewing New Hampshire as more of the wild card in Presidential Primary Parcheesi. Iowa has this tendency to go moderately to the left in Presidential elections and send conservatives to Congress. But yet we don't at that same time. But Iowa's politics are predictable, independent-minded and sometimes downright irritating. We're one of two states that have yet to elect a woman to any position whatsoever- a distinction we share with Mississippi, oh joy and the people we do elect, we tend to keep sending back to Washington, over and over and over and over and over and over again. So there's not much turnover and movement in Iowa politics, despite the state's independent-minded nature.

Minnesota politics, however, are awesome. They're vital, fun, feisty and also hard to quantify at times, but you can't say The Medium White North isn't afraid to try new people now and again. These are the people who, after all, did elect Jesse Ventura. I miss Minnesota- but only sometimes and it's more out of nostalgia than anything else that I decided to give a shout-out to all my peeps up north and weigh in on some statewide races in Minnesota. And first up, is of course, the quadrennial three way brouhaha between the Democrats (quirkily called the DFL, a remnant of the state Democratic Party's post war merger with the Farmer-Labor Party), Republicans and the state's small but feisty third party, the Independence Party (a legacy of Jesse 'The Body' Ventura, who split with the Reform Party after they immolated themselves by nominating Pat Buchannan for President.)

The three way aspect of the race tends to be more illusory that the reality of what happens at the ballot box, but it does make it fun. The importance and vital role another political party can (and should, on the national level) display is on full display in Minnesota and it rocks my socks off, because voters actually have options. Real live options and it's not like they're no-hopers either, no the Independence Party has a taste of power under its belt so both Democrats and Republicans know full well that Minnesota's electorate will only put up with so much guff before voting 'em both out and putting someone else in. (They have after all, done it before.) I like to think it keeps the big boys a little more honest.

But the reality of the situation is that the Independence Party doesn't seem (I really hope I'm wrong about this. IP people reading this, tell me I'm wrong!) to have a lot of bench strength outside the Twin Cities. They should be aggressively recruiting and running people for seats in the Statehouse and they didn't (at least in 2008 when I checked, hopefully that's changed) seem to have too many out there. More aggresive party building on the part of the IP could pay off down the road in the long term and hopefully they start to realize that and build a base where they can within the state, because Minnesota's democracy and their politics are much better with the IP than they would be without them.

Enough of that: to the race! Democrat Mark Dayton had me intrigued for awhile, but kids, you know how I roll: I want more options and a healthier democracy across the country which is why I'm endorsing Independence Party Candidate Tom Horner for Governor of Minnesota.

No offense to Republican Tom Emmer, but there was not one piece of his platform that I found particularly inspiring. OK, so there's a school of thought that says you gotta stick with what you know works- which is something that lies at the core of conservatism, I think, but the usual grab bag of social issues, lowering taxes across the board and cutting spending, promoting school choice and being against abortion and gay marriage just isn't doing it for me anymore- and this doesn't just apply to Mr. Emmer and the Minnesota Republicans, it's a general memo to the GOP at large. I've been listening to the same bland mix of low, low, low taxes and morals and values from Republicans since I've been old enough to understand in some half-assed way how politics would work in this country. (4th Grade, 1992- totally kids voted for Perot! Independent from the word, go, kids- that's me in a nutshell!) They never seem to tire of talking about the same, tired old Republican chestnuts- but I tell you what, I'm damn tired of listening. Seems like Republicans talk a good talk and then do nothing resembling what they've talked about once in power- whether Mr. Emmer is afflicted by the same problem his national party is or not, the fact remains- I read, I slipped into a coma and was left entirely uninspired. We need innovative and radical ideas to help fix this country and Mr. Emmer seems to be playing it safe by hitting every Republican g-spot he can think of. It's good conservatism to be sure and there's a chance it could win him the race, but it's not the change I'm looking for. So sorry, Mr. Emmer. No goodies for you.

Mr. Dayton of the DFL intrigues me more. He also irritates me quite a bit, as I was cheering for party-endorsed Margaret Anderson Kelliher to win the primary, but the past is the past. Mr. Dayton is to be commended for standing up for marriage equality, a State Equal Rights Amendment and has a quite frankly fascinating plan to establish an Energy Savings Fund to retrofit public buildings with energy efficient and alternative sources of power to lower the state's overall energy consumption- using the initial savings to spread retrofitting statewide. (Simultaneously being good for the environment and sound fiscal practice, from what I can see.)

But with the good, there's also the bad: to tackle problems with education, Dayton promises to increase funding, which to me is a good first step, but also doesn't really solve any problems from what I can see. Yes, teachers should be paid better and schools should be well-funded, but the results we're getting overall don't really justify continued investment. If the bucket has several holes in it, what's the point of putting more water in the bucket? Dayton also favors a single-payer health care system and seems to think he can pay for everything by taxing the rich. (Read my lips: 'Tax The Rich' says his website, because they don't pay their fair share.) Again, the problem with that is that Republicans although they turn purple saying it so much, have a point: taxing the 'rich' will have a detrimental effect on small business- and who gets to decide what a fair share is? Dayton? Emmer? The government? Thanks, but no thanks on that score. (Personally, I like the idea of a national sales tax more and more- Americans live and die for the ability to buy crap they don't need, so really the more crap you buy, the more tax you should pay- though I have to do some more reading on this matter before I can say for sure.)

All of which brings us back around to the man himself, Tom Horner. Horner got my immediate attention by talking specific numbers in a way the other two aren't, especially on Minnesota's current fiscal state. He lays out the math, says what he'd want to do and puts out there for voters to like or dislike as they see fit- a refreshingly honest and direct approach that I liked right way. He follows this up with a call to streamline government and an emphasis on making sure that if the state does spend money, taxpayers are getting the most bang for their buck. On taxes, Horner calls for lowering the sales tax rate, while simultaneously expanding its reach- pointing out that Dayton's plan to raise taxes on top earners making over $120K would hit both small business AND two income households. On social issues, he says he's committed to reducing abortions, but doesn't come across as anti-choice, while making a firm refusal to use the issue as a political tool, which is laudable. He's pro-marriage equality (as an aside: if you would have asked me pre-Varnum which Midwestern state would have legalised gay marriage first, I would have told you point blank, Minnesota. I'm still surprised they haven't.) and picks some specific local issues (like supporting a new Racino as an extra revenue flow for state coffers) to back and, unlike DFLers or GOPers has now come out in favor of getting the Vikings a new stadium deal, offering specifics on that. (Whether I can approve of public money being used for such things is another debate entirely, but the Vikes bring economic heft to the Twin Cities table and losing the NFL franchise to presumably Los Angeles would have an impact.)

My love and desire for viable third parties and vigorous democratic debate aside, this choice was a no-brainer. Emmer has said so far nothing that I haven't heard before. Dayton throws you a few interesting nuggets and then says nothing that I haven't heard before (single payer health care, taxing the rich, etc) but it's Tom Horner that seems to epitomize a real break with the tiresome business as usual offered by the Republican and Democratic Parties. If I still lived in the Medium White North, I'd be knocking on doors for Mr. Horner and you'd better believe I'd be running to my ballot box to proudly cast my vote for the Independence Party and Mr. Horner this November.