Saint Paul 2008

Politically, Minnesota can be baffling to outsiders, as it flip-flops from Republican to Democratic control, elects unusual characters into office, and generally fails to behave in a conventional political fashion. A quote in a recent (Saint Paul) Pioneer Press article on area history provides as good an insight as any into Minnesota:

Ron Cockriel, of Maplewood - one of St Paul’s largest suburbs - speaking about the sprawling city’s identity independant of it’s capital neighbor: “[R]eally, we’re not any one thing. I’m a Minnesotan before I’m an American. We’re a nation of individuals with our own identities, and we’re a city of individuals.”

That, right there, says much about Minnesota and her politics. If you’re wondering how the RNC convention has come to be hosted in a Democrat-led city, in a Republican-led state whose house and senate controlled by the DFL party, and whose representation in Congress is almost universally Democratic, look no further than that quote above. If you’re wondering how we could elect an outlandish former professional wrestler as governor, well… that’s how.