politics

Ever since I’ve gotten here, I’ve been hearing about this phenomenon called “Minnesota Nice.” According to Wikipedia:

Minnesota nice is the stereotypical behavior of Minnesota residents described as hospitality and courtesy to others. The term is also sometimes used in a derogatory way, to connote a sort of smiling stubbornness, forced politeness, false humility or passive aggressive hostility.

I was speaking to some of my students, asking them about this behavior. They laughed. They said that the Twin Cities area is not renowned for its Minnesota Nice behavior.

This behavior does not translate into Minnesota politics either. Not at all. I’ve seen some aggregious political ads having lived in California (Arizona politics doesn’t come close to these levels of aggressiveness), but I’ve never seen such mean-spirited attack ads, especially in the Senate race.

Here in Minnesota, there are several candidates (Charles Aldrich (L), Dean Barkley (IP), Norm Coleman (R), Al Franken (DFL), and James Niemackl (C)) running for the U.S. Senate seat that is currently held by first-term Senator Norm Coleman (who replaced Dean Barkley, who replaced the late Paul Wellstone). While Barkley has been a part of the debates, it is really the race between Coleman and Franken (yes, that Al Franken) that has been the worst. This summer, the first ad that I remember seeing was against Franken and included accusations of being involved in pornography. While Coleman has suspended his attack ads and has tried to portray a compassionate, family man who understands our hardships, the ads have not stopped (fueled by money from the Republican National Committee, the National Chamber of Commerce, and others). Coleman has also been attacked with low-blows (but by most accounts, not nearly as often, as harshly, or as personally as Franken).

So imagine my concern when John McCain visited the Twin Cities a few weeks ago and the people attending this rally talked about “being scared” and Obama being “an Arab.” McCain’s response wasn’t much better. He states, “No ma’am. No ma’am. He’s a decent family man citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with.” Ummm..those of Arab decent can’t be decent family men and citizens (of somewhere)?

I actually respect Senator McCain. I wouldn’t ever vote for him because our belief systems are not compatible at all, but I do think that he believes that he can give this country what it needs and that he does care about what happens to the people of this country. However, when a major political candidate makes a statement like that, it makes me wonder what he really believes.

All of this in Minnesota, where Minnesota Nice is supposed to be the acceptable behavior (the positive Minnesota Nice, not the derogatory aspect of it).

Where is the nice?

Let me preface by stating that I did not vote for either Clinton or Obama in the primaries, and I think that there are faults with both of them in terms of who should be President of the United States (but their faults, from my perspective, are far less than those of McCain).

This primary season has killed all joy and hope in terms of a great political race for me. I’m exhausted by it (and I can only imagine how the candidates feel). The racial and misogynistic outcries from people in and out of the campaigns have really made this a difficult race to support.

All of this being said, I was dismayed by the responses of so many people last night, including candidates.

As the countdown of the primaries concluded yesterday evening, Obama’s campaign was counting down how many super delegates had pledged their support. I watched the countdown via both Twitter and FriendFeed. I watched people cheer Obama on. I watched as it got closer and closer to the final number of delegates needed (this was really counted down, one by one).

I’m all for cheering your candidate on. I think it’s great that so many people are so passionate about this race, and that so many people are interested in politics. All I have to say to that is that it’s about time. Where have you all been?

Ahem. Anyway…what bothered me were the comments about Clinton during this. These same people could not resist making digs at Clinton. Fine, that might be the fun of politics for them. But some of them were personal and misogynistic and were troubling. Then, I was confused by the vehemence of responses when Clinton didn’t concede the race immediately.

There are a few things that bother me about this. First, just because delegates have pledged their vote, doesn’t mean they *will* vote that way. Second, Obama declared himself the winner when the race has been so close, a bit presumptuous I think. Third, Obama and McCain have pretty much excluded Clinton for a few months, battling one another (smacks of a boy’s club). Fourth, if another candidate had decided that it was prudent to wait a few hours to make a decision, I’m sure that some latitude would be given to that person.

Frankly, that Clinton said that she didn’t want to make any snap decisions, that she wanted to think about this, made me respect her more. It tells me that she’s thoughtful, careful, and considerate about her actions. We know she can make snap decisions because she has. But she has now shown us that she is also a very considerate person in her actions.

And what is that old cliche? Actions speak louder than words. In this case, it really was a good decision.

Whatever she chooses to do, that one statement made me respect her. It would be our loss to not have her as an advocate for the citizens of the US in one capacity or another.

These kinds of things are a bit silly, but this one does tell you the candidate’s stand on the issues after you’ve chosen your person.

Since today is “Super Tuesday,” (and what is so super about so many states voting in an archaic system on the same day anyway), I thought it might be fun to see who is most closely aligned with your ideals.

votechooser