Should MN Independence Party dissolve?

What's in a name? The suggested answer to this old line is "not much."
I remember visiting Minneapolis and seeing a series of restaurants called The Best Steak House. Not that one couldn't have a quite fine experience there, but this wasn't deluxe. It had its niche as all dining establishments do. This particular chain had the common touch and probably had prices to match. Does it still exist? I don't know.
The Independence Party (IP) of Minnesota brings to mind that question of "what's in a name?" Third parties are like the red-haired stepchild of American politics. America was built on the foundation of our vaunted two-party system. It's better than the alternatives, even though there's an inclination to hold your nose sometimes.
That hold-your-nose impulse opened the door for the campaign of Jesse Ventura in Minnesota. It was a hugely significant chapter in Minnesota history. It wasn't hyperbole when Ventura bellowed "We shocked the world" in front of his supporters when celebrating (at Canterbury Park, I recall, consistent with his tastes).
My recollection is that few people thought the former professional wrestler was actually going to win, right up until election day. As the reality set in, with the numbers pointing to Ventura's impending triumph over his (seemingly) business-as-usual rivals, the NBC newsman with the same name as yours truly advised viewers that "you'd better sit down for this one."
Brian Williams of NBC sharpened his skills on that company's cable network, MSNBC. Then he climbed a rung and took over the 5:30 p.m. newscast for the flagship. Williams has the role once owned by "Huntley and Brinkley" who joined Walter Cronkite in reciting the daily news to the young boomers from that glowing screen. It was an exclusive club back then.
The much-older boomers sat transfixed in front of their TVs when the realization of Ventura's success set in. I suspect we all remember vividly.
I also suspect that many of us felt a guilty pleasure over seeing a total character - the epitome of pro wrestling's hyperbole - become governor and rivet the nation's attention.
Dan Rather had special fun with "The Body" nickname the next day. Rather's career would end up tumbling down because of his failure to grasp the subtleties of typed words (the notorious "superscript"). Brian Williams the anchorman (and not yours truly) is flourishing journalistically. Yours truly is wandering in the frontier of the new media. Oh, and thanks for reading.
We all wanted to see Governor Ventura do well. There is something very likable about this energized lug. He has the unflappable poise of a professional entertainer. He is a thinker and philosopher but with a reputation of not always doing his homework to get the true breadth of knowledge he needs.
He has had some sympathy for the 9/11 Truth Movement.
Again, "What's in a name?" Are the "Truthers" more interested in the truth than anyone else? Are the Democrats more loyal to the principle of democracy? Does a used car dealer really deserve the nickname "Honest?"
None of us has ever known a dealer with that nickname, in all likelihood, but it's part of our popular lore. It suggests that names are drummed up to sell or exaggerate, which is human nature. And Minnesota's Independence Party fits into that mold.
The name suggests there is some special virtue attached to its adherents. They have independent qualities that set them apart from their parochial and scheming rivals (it is suggested).
It's horse hockey really, because politicians have constituencies that buttress them financially. The Independence Party of 2010 is a vestige of the Ventura heyday. That heyday has no more chance of being repeated than the 1991 World Series.
The IP gave us boring wonk Peter Hutchinson in the '06 governor's race, and all that did was split the progressive vote.
Minnesotans wanted a left-of-center governor. It was time. Instead a monkeywrench got thrown into the works, because third parties aren't part of the normal scheme of things.
The most generous thing that can be said about third parties is that they send a protest message by their mere existence - a "shot across the bow" as it were.
Ventura rode that wave. He beat Norm Coleman, he of the eastern U.S. accent, who has now lost to a professional wrestler and a comedian (Al Franken). Ventura also toppled the iconic name of Humphrey as in "Skip Humphrey." Humphrey has stepped into obscurity.
Ventura was signed to host an MSNBC show but it never got off the ground. I suspect that his failure to always do his homework hurt him there. He's too much of a one-trick pony to have a daily show.
Although, I would much prefer him as a daily host over the crazed gold shill Glenn Beck.
The cable news jungle can be perplexing.
Ventura is at his best as a guest on the cable shows like Larry King Live. He and Bill Maher are probably Larry's favorite guests.
I think we all see something fundamentally admirable about Jesse "The Body." There is a very human quality about him, even when he leans toward sympathy to the 9/11 "Truthers." He continually says there are unanswered questions about 9/11. Healthy skepticism is a virtue.
It was sad to see Ventura wear down under the pressure of being Minnesota's governor. He seemed like the kind of person who would have a thick skin. But he wore down in this regard.
Jesse failed to shield his family well enough. Nothing about the behavior of the "media jackals," as he called them, should have surprised him. Today the media is so much more diversified, it probably wouldn't have had such an abrasive effect on him.
I think he was an empathetic and committed person as governor but he lacked some of the defense mechanisms that hardened professional politicians have learned to cultivate. Sad.
But the Independence Party? It might as well pack it in. Our Democrats and Republicans need to learn to reach out to the people better, away from those State Capitol blinders.
Thanks to the IP and Forum Communications, the Fargo-based media conglomerate that strives to coax Republicans to victory, we have "TPaw" as governor, who feels at home sitting next to Newt Gingrich on a typical Fox News cesspool talk panel. He knows all the lines.
Minnesotans don't want another Republican governor. But can we get a "real deal" Democratic candidate who doesn't wear the parochial party blinders? Margaret Anderson-Kelliher? She's a lightweight. Matt Entenza? He's damaged goods because of his TV commercial that signals he might might have intimacy with the teachers union.
"We can't cut our way to greatness," Entenza proclaims.
But we are sure as heck going to have to cut something. His commercials show kids in a science classroom with an over-acting teacher, all ebullient, surrounded by some steaming chemical flasks that look as though they're about to explode. It looks like a scene from Fred MacMurray's "The Absent-Minded Professor."
But Minnesotans don't want to keep feeding the money pit of our state's public schools. We need sober, hard-nosed analysis and a sense there will be austerity, though not the kind of austerity that could loom with the likes of "TPaw" or Gingrich in charge.
We need truly innovative minds and not just a tax-cut mantra pledge.
Does Minnesota need 87 defined counties? Very good question. Does Stevens County need such ambitious county government? Could county government in its essence be restructured?
Locally there appears to have been a revelation that we really don't need a full-time "coordinator." The departing individual, the loquacious Jim Thoreen, is not being replaced. But that "retiree" is running for state office. How likely is he to suggest cutting?
Could dramatic new efficiencies be applied to our public schools, and could our public system through competition be forced to streamline and at the same time become more effective?
The Independence Party may not fade away soon. They have put forward a candidate for governor who is no more independent or unfettered by narrow interests than anyone else. He's Tom Horner.
Horner is a former Republican Party strategist. By profession he's in public relations. Public relations? It's a euphemism for being a mouthpiece, like Glenn Beck for gold. I'd sooner trust a car salesman with the "Honest" nickname.
Horner has a long background of working with Dave Durenberger, a former U.S. Senator known as a moderate Republican who can take off the blinders sometimes. That past association is heartening.
But really, how objective and truth-seeking might Mr. Horner be? If you believe he really possesses these attributes, you might believe a sign that says "The Best Steak House."
I hate to be this skeptical but take a look at the facts: By his own admission, Horner's PR firm has represented high-profile players at the state capitol like the Minnesota Vikings football team and health insurance companies like Blue Cross/Blue Shield.
I have to agree with Tony Sutton, Minnesota Republican chairman, who said of Horner that he has a 30-year background as a political insider. He's an opportunist with stripes typical of pols.
No way would his win (unlikely) "shock the world." We might get a new Vikings stadium but there are more pressing priorities now. Maybe those kids around the chemical flasks would have some answers.
Or maybe Mark Dayton, who I think might put on his cape and become the next governor.
Dayton I think could overcome the siphoning effect of the IP. Should the IP just dissolve? Can it claim a special niche anymore or has it faded into a back-door type of vehicle for ego-tripping would-be officeholders to get in front of the public - people who fall short of getting endorsed the two-party way?
Maybe the Independence Party has simply run its course and should be given a decent burial.
-Brian Williams - morris mn Minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com