Is Minnesota moving to the right?

It seems I keep hearing reports that Minnesota is moving to the Right (politically speaking; plate tectonics aren't causing us to drift into Wisconsin). Again this morning on MPR, they were discussing how [1] Tim Pawlenty (our post-pro-wrestler, Republican governor) was trying to turn the image of the Republican party into one of populism and how [2] John Kerry narrowly won our frigid state even though the last time we voted for a Republican president was 1972. And of course who can forget Minnesota's own defector, [3] Norm Coleman.

Yet how is it that most of the people I know are Lefties? I admit that I don't typically socialize with many Republicans, but I usually notice when they're around. I'm pretty sure that the idea of Minnesota becoming Republican is a myth. A myth perpetuated by a fractured Left and a media campaign by the Right. (But if I'm right, there must be a guy running around under cover of darkness putting Bush stickers on people's cars.)

1. Tim Pawlenty did not win because he had a mandate from the people, much like the Great Nader Gore Spoiler of 2000, the Independence and Green parties split enough of the vote from the DFL to make a difference. As it was, Pawlenty won with 44% of the vote. Had the Greenies and Indies gotten on board with the DFL, Moe would have had 54%.

2. Yes, Kerry did only win Minnesota with 51% of the vote (to Bush's 47%). Oddly enough, almost the exact same margin that Nixon won with in '72 (the last time MN went Republican for a president).

Let's talk about '72 for just a second. Why anyone would reference that election as legitimate evidence of anything, or even something to note other than as a failure of our whole system, is beyond me! Just like in sports almanacs, it should be asterisked and never spoken of again. We talk about Bush "stealing" the '00 election with legal maneuvering, family influence, and electoral math, but the '72 election was actually fixed. People went to jail for it and everything.

"So how did Bush get so close this time?" you ask. I think Norm convinced his buddies in Washington that if we'd elect him, maybe we'd vote for more Republicans too. So the RNC dumped an insane amount of money into MN to turn it into a "battleground state". Note that I said they turned it into a "battleground state". It's like statewide bribery. Any state can be hotly contested if you throw enough money, media, and stump speeches at it. But ultimately, there weren't enough third party candidates, or maybe we learned from the last Nader fiasco, and the MN Lefties stuck together enough to keep the state blue. (I also don't think it was actually all that close. It certainly wasn't as close as many other states.)

3. How did Norm "Fuck" Coleman win?
        a. He was a Democrat.
        b. He brought hockey back to the Twin Cities.
        c. Wellstone was killed.
        d. He's a weasel.
        e. He won with a 2.2% margin, and (in case you haven't noticed the trend yet) the Indies and the Greenies collectively held 2.45% (and another half of a percent of true knuckleheads voted for the dead guy).


Having been a life-long holder of left-wingnut opinions, I understand the dissatisfaction with the mainstream Democratic Party, but I also understand that while the "lesser of two evils" isn't a great choice, living with the greater evil is worse. As Mark Dayton just announced that he won't be seeking reelection in '06, my most profound hope is that the Indies and the Greenies will see how they're helping to elect the candidates they hate the most.