2008 Woodie Awards
Vote Absentee
Talking through-but not endorsing anyone-in the Minnesota U.S. Senate race
Issue date: 2/1/08 Section: Opinion
Just about three in four Macalester students hail from outside Minnesota, so perhaps we as a student body can be forgiven for our ambivalence toward local politics. But the fact remains that the outcomes of the elections specific to this fair state-city government, state legislature and Congressional and Senatorial contests alike-have the potential to affect us directly. We've decided that a rundown of the candidates competing in Tuesday's other caucus and of incumbent Norm Coleman is in order.
Al Franken
The de facto frontrunner by virtue of name recognition (the product of a successful comedic career and a less-lucrative but equally colorful run as a liberal commentator for Air America), Al Franken brings a certain amount of glamour to the normally reserved DFL caucus. Front and center on Franken's agenda are an end to the Iraq war and an immediate move toward universal healthcare coverage, though not necessarily through a single-payer system. Though Franken took flak from commentators for an alleged participation in an off-color anti-gay skit in the 1970s, he describes himself as solidly pro-adoption rights for same-sex couples, and pro-same-sex marriage, and he boasts the endorsement of LGBT community champion and openly gay state Sen. Scott Dibble (DFL-Minneapolis). And Franken's populism shines through in his ambitious though vague plans to reduce the rich-poor gap both locally and nationally and in his scheme to tackle climate change through state investment in Minnesota's ample renewable energy resources and "capacity for innovation."
Mike Ciresi
Mike Ciresi's feelings on a wide variety of issues seem compatible with Franken's, although some of his policy positions are more carefully thought-out. The DFLer wants Americans out of Iraq on an unspecified deadline, heavy subsidies and grants for Minnesota-based green energy, a guest worker program for undocumented immigrants complete with G.W. Bush's much-vaunted "path" to citizenship, and a plan for tackling terrorism which focuses on rehabilitating America's image in the Middle East and elsewhere through development aid (and, you can be sure, some slick propaganda offensives). As with most of the other candidates both local and national, he delivers little more than fuzzy platitudes on national healthcare, but he does break with the pack on veterans' care: the issue features prominently on his website and allows him a good opportunity to rant against the injustices perpetuated by Bush and Co.
Al Franken
The de facto frontrunner by virtue of name recognition (the product of a successful comedic career and a less-lucrative but equally colorful run as a liberal commentator for Air America), Al Franken brings a certain amount of glamour to the normally reserved DFL caucus. Front and center on Franken's agenda are an end to the Iraq war and an immediate move toward universal healthcare coverage, though not necessarily through a single-payer system. Though Franken took flak from commentators for an alleged participation in an off-color anti-gay skit in the 1970s, he describes himself as solidly pro-adoption rights for same-sex couples, and pro-same-sex marriage, and he boasts the endorsement of LGBT community champion and openly gay state Sen. Scott Dibble (DFL-Minneapolis). And Franken's populism shines through in his ambitious though vague plans to reduce the rich-poor gap both locally and nationally and in his scheme to tackle climate change through state investment in Minnesota's ample renewable energy resources and "capacity for innovation."
Mike Ciresi
Mike Ciresi's feelings on a wide variety of issues seem compatible with Franken's, although some of his policy positions are more carefully thought-out. The DFLer wants Americans out of Iraq on an unspecified deadline, heavy subsidies and grants for Minnesota-based green energy, a guest worker program for undocumented immigrants complete with G.W. Bush's much-vaunted "path" to citizenship, and a plan for tackling terrorism which focuses on rehabilitating America's image in the Middle East and elsewhere through development aid (and, you can be sure, some slick propaganda offensives). As with most of the other candidates both local and national, he delivers little more than fuzzy platitudes on national healthcare, but he does break with the pack on veterans' care: the issue features prominently on his website and allows him a good opportunity to rant against the injustices perpetuated by Bush and Co.
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