Growing Up Then and Now

 Not even a Kennedy could get in

In 1988 I was a one-year-legislator with the now-seemingly-reachable ambition to be President of the United States.    In the “Open Letter” to my kids I say why I still believe to this day that the politics I wear on my sleeve can be mainstream politics, the politics of a majority of Americans.  Although this ambition to be President hit a glass ceiling in 1993 (as described in “Third Time’s The Charm”), in 1988 I was at the pinnacle of success supporting Jesse Jackson for President over Michael Dukakis.  Jesse Jackson mainstream?

I was elected by a state-wide group of Democrats to be a Jackson Delegate to the Democratic National Convention in Atlanta in 1988.

Waving the Rainbow Flag at the 1988 National Convention

To this day I believe that Jesse had more appeal for mainstream America than Dukakis showed in the race against the first George Bush.  In 1968 Jesse was marching in the streets for civil rights with Martin Luther King.  In 1972 I was a protestor in the streets at that year’s Democratic National Convention in Miami Beach.  In 1988 Paul Wellstone was on the plane with me flying to Atlanta, also a Jesse Jackson Delegate.  By 1988 I was elected to serve in the Minnesota Legislature, Jesse Jackson was making a serious run for the Presidency, and two years later Paul Wellstone became a United States Senator.  Before Paul’s plane went down in 2002, he was on his way to becoming President of the United States.

Getting inside the system to change the system is still the best way for the Movement for a New America to succeed.  In 2013 I believe mainstream America is more ready than ever to embrace the protest politics that we all can do better than what we’ve got.  Are you and your family better off now than you were in 1988?  Are you as likely to get a pension upon retirement as I was?  Do the Democrats and the Republicans stand for what’s best for our Country?  Let’s get our current group of protestors into office!

It was a heady experience brushing up against the top echelon of politicians in Atlanta:  Not just the Walter Mondale and Ted Kennedy types, but also the Tom Haydens and Ron Kovics of the world (fellow protestors now inside the system).  Being officially wined and dined and escorted around was fun, but the protestor in me just couldn’t stand seeing the perimeter of the Convention Center walled-off with a ten foot high barbed wire fence and hundreds of protestors on the outside.

On the night Jesse Jackson’s name was put into nomination, I hatched a plan.  Once the entire Minnesota Delegation of Jackson Delegates was seated on the Convention Floor, one-by-one I asked them to give me their credentials (official passes to get through the barbed wire gates), promising I would give them back within the hour.  Got about 40 sets.  Then I left the Convention and found about 40 Homeless Protestors outside, handed out the credentials, and escorted them inside.  We got past security into the Convention Center but at the entrance to the Convention Floor the Fire Marshall said the place was at maximum capacity and not even a Ted Kennedy could get in.  So we retreated to the salon outside the floor where there were big screen TVs of the goings-on, a grand buffet and free cocktails.  I was profusely thanked by the Homeless for the great meal, gathered back all the credentials, and then managed to get back on the Floor myself to cast a vote for Jesse.

P.S.  Paul was my roommate in Atlanta and some of us already had plans afoot for his U.S. Senate run.

My Bill to Let 16 Year-Olds Participate in Politics

The tow company bill, not a big deal; but it’s hard to forgive Arne vetoing a bill that was of, by and for the kids.  Getting young people excited about life, about politics, about how much fun it all can be, has been a big part of my life, as reflected in these stories.  So when a group of teenagers asked me to sponsor a bill that would allow 16 year-olds to vote, I immediately said good idea. 

Allowing 16 year-olds the vote was, however, not a new idea.  Rep. Phyllis Kahn had been trying to get it passed for years – with no luck.  So we hit upon a middle ground that might garner legislative support:  Allow 16 year-olds to participate in the precinct caucus and party convention process, but keep the voting age at 18.  In Minnesota political parties convene neighborhood caucuses in February/March to start building the party platform and elect delegates who later meet in convention to endorse candidates for office, but state law limits participation to those eligible to vote in November.  Just change that one part, but not the whole thing.

The group of students who came to me with the idea then got a hands-on education in the political process.  They got students all over the state to visit legislators and get promises of support.  They testified in committee hearings about how schools could incorporate the caucus/convention process into the curriculum, how this would lead to more students caring about issues, how it might result in 18-25 year-olds no longer being the least likely to turn out on election day, and over-all make for a better democracy.  They thoroughly rebutted the argument that they didn’t know enough about the issues to be informed participants.   They were in the galley when the votes were taken.  And they got their bill passed.

But we didn’t give enough thought to whether the Governor liked the idea or not, and Arne’s veto took us all by surprise.  Once again there was no veto message.  If I had to guess at a reason I’d say it’s just a Republican thing to believe in voter suppression.

Vetoes and Other Failed Legislation

“It’s not the government’s responsibility when there’s been failed parenting.”

As a Minnesota legislator I successfully passed legislation, but some unsuccessful efforts make for good stories.  Arne Carlson twice vetoed bills that both the House and the Senate thought would be good things to do – or at least innocuous enough not to vote against.

My Tow Company Bill

In 1994 a constituent asked me to intercede to try to get his nursing uniform out of the trunk of his car that had been towed.  The towing company was demanding he pay all the towing charges before they’d let him on their lot to retrieve his possessions.  He understood not getting his car back until after he settled up, but I thought he made a good argument that to get the money to pay them he had to work, and his employer wouldn’t let him work sans uniform, so come on!  Keep the car but let him get his uniform!

“No way,” they said, pointing to a state law that allows the vehicle and all its contents to be kept as a bailment.

“Well,” I said back to them, “we’ll see if that’s going to stay the law or not,” and proceeded to draft a bill that deleted the clause allowing them to retain the personal property, but the bill let them keep the car until paid.  Although my constituent borrowed some money, got his car back, and returned to work, I kept the bill moving through the legislative process thinking the next guy in a similar situation would be thankful.

There was no opposition to the bill.  It cleared all committees with nary a word spoken against it.  Even made the “Consent Calendar” where we vote on non-controversial bills.  Passed both the House and the Senate and went to the Governor’s desk for his signature.   Next morning I arrived at the Capitol at my usual hour and the entire Capitol area was ringed 360 degrees in every direction the eye could see by tow trucks with all their lights flashing.  This couldn’t be about my non-controversial bill, could it?

It was, and the Governor had already vetoed it.  Just like that without even consulting me.  Just to get the damn tow trucks to go away.  So don’t leave things in your car if you’re going to be towed.  I’ve often wondered if Arne was friends with that tow company guy and the tow companies had just laid in wait to show me who was boss, or whether they only became aware of the bill at the last minute.

Sovietizing Our Youth

In his book The Good Fight former Vice-President and United States Senator Walter Mondale provides an insightful analysis of the change in our country’s political dynamics between 1960 and 2000.  It’s great reading and I recommend it for any up and coming political types.

I came of political age during the late 60s and early 70s, a period Mondale refers to as “the high tide of liberalism.”   It was a time when we as Americans believed in creating opportunity for all and the value of the whole community pulling together.   By the time I was passing legislation in the 80s and 90s that was no longer true; instead an anti-government dogma had set in; there was no longer “a war on poverty” or any dreams of a great society.  To get something passed you had to appeal to conservatives that any investment in people would pay-off handsomely in reduced government spending.

IWW Songbook – A Different (and better) Politics

Mondale points to President Nixon’s vetoing Mondale’s “Comprehensive Child Development Act of 1971” as the beginning of the “cultural wars,” whereby ultra-conservative right wingers were able to re-define left-wing liberalism as being against “family values” – the launching of the Jerry Falwell-Jimmy Swaggart-Pat Robertson religious right as a political movement.

By 1971 already one of three mothers with toddlers was in the work place and Mondale’s bill would have established a national network of locally managed pre-school child developmental centers, with nutritional services and medical care, for all working families, not just families in poverty.  The bill passed both the House and the Senate with large bi-partisan majorities and was sent to President Nixon to sign into law.  But Pat Buchanan was Nixon’s speechwriter and saw an opportunity to rally cultural conservatives who still thought a woman’s place was in the home. Nixon’s veto message accused Mondale of trying to “Sovietize” America’s youth.

Tomorrow:  Sovietizing Our Youth 2.0