- by TPO -
What is irksome in politics? In my view, it is the persistent political infiltration by outside forces to purposefully sway local electoral outcomes. Here in Minnesota, we had a taste of it back in the Bush/Cheney years (2001-2008). There were two rising (?!) stars named Tim Pawlenty and Norm Coleman. Tim was from the State legislature, and Norm was a former mayor of St. Paul.
Of the two, Tim Pawlenty was the least harmful, in my opinion. He had shown progressive mettle and was in effect a moderate politician. Norm Coleman, on the other hand, was a mealy-mouthed opportunist who once used to be a democrat but had defected to the dark side. In 2002, Norm Coleman was going to make another attempt for the governorship, and Tim Pawlenty had begun the preliminary steps of a campaign for the U.S. Senate seat (running against Paul Wellstone).
Then Dick Cheney stepped into the picture and rearranged the political plans of these young politicians. He got Coleman to go for the Senate seat and told Pawlenty he should run for Governor instead. All political munitions and what not were aimed at defeating Wellstone. It was, I am sure, very fortuitous for Norm and the Republican White House that Wellstone died in a plane crash. Norm won the Senate seat against a democratic party that was in disarray and undergoing persistent political doldrums. As for Tim Pawlenty, on the other hand, his victory was uncomplicated, unblemished, and well-earned.
To me, to this day, the nauseating thing about Coleman and Pawlenty was that they were Dick Cheney's puppets. They worked for him and not for Minnesota!
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