Gotta hand it to the Taxpayer's League. They are good at getting their goofy ideas covered in the media.
The latest, that Minnesota should move beyond the legacy of Olson, a Depression-era figure who embraced socialism, and honor "the president who utterly defeated communism." The league also wants to tear down statues of Olson along the highway and at the State Capitol and erect monuments to Reagan, the Republican president from 1981 to 1989. According to Conrad Defabre's article in the Strib:
David Strom, president of the Taxpayers League, acknowledged "a bit of tongue-in-cheek" in the petition drive but also said key ideological values are at stake.
"It is finally time to put official celebration of socialism and communism firmly in the past," he said. "Floyd B. Olson represents the failed path of socialism. It is ridiculous that we still celebrate his vision while not properly honoring Reagan's visionary leadership that liberated so many."
http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/4950511.html
Now the Taxpayer's League proposes changing the name of the Floyd B Olson Memorial Highway to Reagan Highway and tearing town Olson statues at the state capitol and replacing them with non-Minnesotan Ronald Reagan. Now I can think of many ways to honor the memory of Ronald Reagan. Eliminating Minnesota History from Highway names isn't one of them.
Nick Coleman has an excellent column on this topic today in the Star Tribune:
http://www.startribune.com/stories/357/4964378.html
From the column:
"He turned the state toward a more progressive track," says Russell Fridley, the former director of the Minnesota Historical Society who has been working for years on writing a biography of Olson. "And what people forget is that it was liberal Republicans who carried his reforms onward, right through Harold LeVander [governor in the late 1960s]."
At a time when school systems and counties were going bankrupt, Olson cajoled leaders of all parties to pass the state income tax. He declared a moratorium on farm foreclosures, passed laws giving rights to unions and protection for natural resources, and talked a conservative state Senate into providing relief to those in need. With the force of his personality and relentless political efforts, he gave people a reason during a time of near despair to hope for better days.
"To try to get rid of his memory shows gross ignorance of the progressive tradition that Olson laid the basis for and from which we benefit," says Fridley. "It's a sad commentary on how we take for granted the important achievements of the Farmer-Labor period."
But it isn't just ignorance. It is hostility that drives the vandals. They want to tear down the Minnesota they dislike. They are radical revisionists short on respect for the culture of the state and long on lists of what to wreck next. They are eager to dismantle government while pushing for bigger highways. Then again, they value highways more than history. So it annoys them that Hwy. 55 -- the Floyd B. Olson Memorial Highway -- is named for a man whose achievements dwarf anything they will ever accomplish.
EY: The whole column is well worth reading.
What bothers me about the Taxpayer's League is that often they seem to get off of Tax issues. For example sponsoring a petition supporting former commissioner Yecke was not related to their mission. So is this. Meanwhile they are missing in action on opposing a sales tax increase for stadiums. According to Dan Dobson of No Stadium Taxes, Phil Krinke told him that the Taxpayer's League had made a deal with Pawlenty to lay low on the stadium tax issue in return for Governor's support of the Taxpayer amendment to the constitution (modelled on the Colorado approach).
What taxpayers do the Taxpayer's League represent? Are they a grassroots organization or just a media shop?
And come on - isn't Red-baiting rather old as a political tactic?
Eva Young Near North Minneapolis, MN eva at usucceed.com http://lloydletta.blogspot.com
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