[Mpls] Cartoonish Republican Views

[mplsgordon2 at aol.com]

David Brauer wrote:

"The problems are tough, but Minneapolis remains  one of the finest,
most vibrant cities in the U.S. - in many ways, getting  finer and more
vibrant - which is important to remember, too."

David,  thanks for your response. I understand what you've said about the 
responsibility  for the problems sitting at the feet of those in previous 
administrations, and I  agree that most of it lies there. I didn't vote for RT Rybak, 
but I think he  deserves praise for his work to devise a responsible plan for 
dealing with those  problems.

I also agree that Minneapolis is a great city, and shouldn't be  mentioned in 
the same paragraph as Detroit, New York of the 70's and 80's, and  Washington 
DC. 

What can't be denied is that "Republican" is a curse of  the worst sort in 
this city. And it really doesn't have much to do with fiscal  policies. It's 
about abortion and gay marriage and school choice and foreign  policy. None of 
those have anything to do with city governance.

Look at  Councilmember Johnson-Lee. I'm no fan of hers, but I think it's kind 
of stupid  that we're arguing on this list about whether or not she's against 
gay marriage.  Who cares? It's an issue at the state and federal level--but 
she works in the  granite palace, not St. Paul and not Washington.

If we want the  Republicans in state government to take us seriously, then we 
should damn well  attempt to engage them, rather than hiss and spit and blow 
razzberries every  time the "R" word is spoken. Honestly, they'll respond, and 
listen, to  intelligent discussion--if it doesn't come with a heaping helping 
of  condescension and contempt.
 
--M. G. Stinnett
Jordan