[speedgibson] Speed Gibson: Making Minnesota Safe for Democracy

[Email subscription to blog articles]

Posted by Speed Gibson:
Making Minnesota Safe for Democracy
http://speedgibson.powerblogs.com/posts/1231626581.shtml


   The Left likes to say that some areas of the world just aren't ready
   for democracy. Is Minnesota one of them?
   We pass the ridiculous Constitutional sales tax for the arts in 2008.
   We elect Lori Swanson Attorney General and Mark Richie Secretary of
   State with our eyes wide shut in 2006. We nearly elect Mike Hatch
   Governor and Al Franken Senator. And with Richie in charge, Franken
   may be our next Senator anyway.
   That's the price of Democracy I suppose. Governor have to be an
   elected position, even if we occassionally get a Governator. But
   Attorney General shouldn't have a political dimension to it. Neither
   should Secretary of State. But by leaving it up to us voters, both
   offices in fact have become political. Odd how the candidate promising
   to de-politicize the Secretary of State's office has the opposite
   effect.
   We're looking at runoff elections for future close elections. We also
   should look at eliminating elections for Attorney General, Secretary
   of State, and the State Auditor. There is precedent for this, the
   elimination of the State Treasurer office by Constitutional Amendment.
   It was obsolete in that it couldn't function effectively with the
   Governor and Legislature precisely because it was independent and
   because it could be held by an incompetent.
   The Governor should appoint the Attorney General and Secretary of
   State, subject to Senate confirmation. The State Auditor's office
   should be eliminated, any actually valuable work given to the
   Department of Finance and the Legislative Auditor.
   This greatly opens the field of candidates. Many fine executives would
   be willing and able to serve in an appointed capacity, but unwilling
   to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous campaigning.
   All of this should save us some money, and what better year?
   One more thing, as long as we're amending the State Constitution. The
   Senate should have no more than 30 days in session to confirm these or
   any other appointments by the Governor. Our Senate is another example
   of where Democracy doesn't always seem to work, viz. Yecke and Molnau.