Michele St Martin writes:
Chartered party organizations like the Feminist
Caucus and Stonewall DFL don't purport to represent all
feminists or all glbt & glbt friends: their constituency is the members
of these groups that identify as DFLers.
------------------------------------------------
Michael Krause is a long time loyal Dem (unlike me), and I think it speaks
volumes that he has resigned from the Stonewall DFL over this. Ann Berget
deserved better. RT and Lisa McDonald deserved better. Walt Gutzmer
deserved better.
I recall having a discussion with Jen Williamson in the Republican Party on
this same subject when I was finding out about the possibilities of getting
an official charter for LCR within the Republican Party. The rules are the
same--party officers have to support endorsed candidates. Well I am not a
Republican party officer--and that is precisely the reason I'm not. There
is no way I would ever support an Alan Quist over an Arne Carlson in a
Republican primary. (And by the way, I don't know who dislikes Arne
Carlson more, DFLers or the Quistlings. Considering the way the delegates
at the last State GOP convention treated the Judicial endorsements....
rejecting Kathy Blatz, endorsing that flake Greg Wersal, I'd say that these
delegates probably detest Carlson more than the DFLers do. Carlson made
mincemeat of them and Quist in the 94 primary.)
What's interesting about all this, is party officers in both parties
regularly don't do this. There were lots of party people who supported
Mike Ceresi against endorsed candidate Janazek. Sharon Sayles Belton
supported Yanisch(sp) before the endorsing convention--and obviously didn't
use that litmus test to support her.
Regarding Dyna's comment:
Eva, I suspect that as a Republican you'd just as soon
encourage the Democrats to fight amongst themselves.
dyna of Hawthorne
---------------------------------------
That's not the point. I think Doug Grow's column described very well a
real problem with the way politics works in Minneapolis. My personal bias
is against caucus systems. I grew up in Wisconsin, and we didn't have
caucuses there, and the parties don't endorse candidates prior to the
primaries. This allows for more voters to participate in choosing their
candidates.
Regarding why I was kicked out. Michele has part of the story, but the
last straw was when I was quoted in Lavender Magazine saying that Gay
people should vote with their brains rather than blindly following party
line. That was the final straw, and I remember it well.
Michele continues:
Eva, if you are dissatisfied with your venture into Republic-
anism, come on back to a party that actually values the contribu-
tions of ALL people, including glbt ones. But it's a lot harder to
work on building a party, be it the nearly-nonexistent Minneapolis
Republican Party or the thriving Minneapolis DFL, than it is to
stand outside and throw stones at it.
--------------------------------------------
And you are saying that the Republican Party doesn't value the
contributions of ALL people, including glbt ones? And the DFL does? It
seems to me that the Dems take Gays for granted, and very much appreciate
the financial contributions of the community.... but do they deliver? I
haven't seen much of that. We still have a sodomy law in this state. Dems
helped pass stupid DOMA laws (including "progressive" Paul "DOMA"
Wellstone.) Dems voted in an anti-gay and anti-choice speaker, Irv
Anderson in the state house.
Bringing this back to Minneapolis, what are folks in neighborhoods to do
when their DFL endorsed council member doesn't return their phone calls and
doesn't perform the basic constituent services expected of the job? There
is way too much of candidates only paying attention to DFL activists rather
than representing the whole district. I hear complaints all the time about
Brian Herron. I also hear complaints from friends of mine in Joe Biernat's
district about him.... It sounds like he really has alienated people in
Sheridan area, and has done nothing to help with the chronic problem coming
from two neighborhood bars on 4th st near 4th and Broadway. Neighbors in
that area have videotape of bar patrons staggering out of the bar,
urinating on neighbors lawns, getting into cars and weaving down the
residential streets, etc. Joe Biernat has been an impediment rather than
assisting in dealing with all this.
Does Minneapolis need a stronger more vibrant Republican Party? You bet it
does. Many of the more interesting and innovative ideas for big cities
have come from Republican Mayors.
Eva
Eva Young
Central
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